Text size:

Delta to double fee for second piece of luggage

BY JAMES BERNSTEIN | james.bernstein@newsday.com

July 31, 2008

Blaming soaring fuel costs, Delta Air Lines, a major operator at New York area airports, said Wednesday it will double the fee -- to $50 -- for checking in a second piece of luggage on domestic flights.

The move was the latest effort by air carriers to raise fees as a way of offsetting fuel costs, which have risen about 80 percent this year.

Susan Chana Elliot, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta, said the airline will still allow passengers to check their first bag for free. Elliot said fewer than 20 percent of all Delta passengers check a second bag. She declined to say how much revenue the new fees will add.

The change applies to passengers who buy tickets on or after Thursday for travel beginning Aug. 5. Delta said its First Class, Business Elite and Medallion customers will still be able to check up to three bags at no charge, and customers on international flights can check two for free.

Robert W. Mann Jr., an independent airline analyst and consultant in Port Washington, predicted other carriers will again raise baggage fees.

In February, United Airlines was first to raise such fees, adopting a $25 charge for second checked bags. After mirroring United's fees in April, American Airlines, the largest carrier, in May announced a $15 charge for the first checked luggage item.

In June, United Airlines and US Airways followed American's lead and said they would charge passengers $15 for a single checked bag. JetBlue Airways Corp. of Forest Hills added a charge of $20 for a second checked bag, but none for a first bag.

Discount carrier Southwest Airlines, a major operator at Long Island-MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, only charges after the first two checked bags.