If you check your luggage or baggage when traveling as a passenger with United Airlines within the United States and on short-haul flights to the Caribbean and Latin America regions, be prepared to pay more effective as of Friday, March 6, 2020, when fees will increase as of five dollars per checked item — unless you already purchased your tickets prior to Friday, February 21, 2020, as passengers who purchased their tickets prior to that date are exempt from paying the additional money to check bags.
Checked Baggage Fees to Increase on United Airlines Effective as of March 6, 2020
As an example, checking items as a passenger who purchased an economy class ticket for a flight from Atlanta to New York scheduled on any date through Thursday, March 5, 2020 shows that the first bag will cost $30.00 and the second bag will cost $40.00…
…but checking items as a passenger who purchased an economy class ticket for a flight from Atlanta to New York scheduled on any date starting Friday, March 6, 2020 and thereafter shows that the first bag will cost $35.00 and the second bag will cost $45.00, which represents an increase of almost 16.67 percent for the first bag and 12.5 percent for the second bag.
The good news is that the fees for checking your baggage will remain at $30.00 for the first item checked and $40.00 for the second item checked if you pay the checked baggage fees at any time prior to checking in for your flight via the Internet or via your portable electronic device — both as an incentive to improve and speed up the process of checking baggage at the airport; and so that United Airlines can increase positive cash flow by keeping your money and having use of it for a longer period of time.
Additionally, fewer employees may eventually be needed at United Airlines for the purpose of checking the baggage of customers.
Summary
JetBlue Airways was the first airline to increase the fees for checking baggage last month, as the cost of checking the first item increased from $30.00 to $35.00 and the cost of checking the second item increased from $40.00 to $45.00 effective as of Thursday, January 16, 2020 with no warning or advanced notice; so expect other airlines which are based in the United States to follow suit — no pun intended.
A precedent does exist pertaining to following the leader: effective as of Monday, August 27, 2018, JetBlue Airways was the first airline to announce the increase of fees for checking baggage from $25.00 to $30.00 for the first item — and many of the other airlines which are based in the United States followed suit…
…okay — I did intend that pun after all; so suit me.
Ultra-low-cost carriers already offer discounts for customers who check their baggage and pay for it in advance — such as Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines.
Anyway — in addition to avoid paying the increased amount to check your luggage — you can avoid baggage fees altogether if you are able to simply pack fewer items and carry them aboard the airplane with you. I do not remember the last time I actually paid to check my baggage, as I almost always carry all of my items aboard the airplane at no extra charge whenever I travel.
Other articles at The Gate pertaining to baggage over the years include — but are not limited to:
- Would You Wear Your Belongings to Avoid Baggage Fees and Mishandled Luggage?
- Airlines Earned Almost $4.2 Billion in Baggage Fees — But…
- Why Eliminating Baggage Fees Will Not Reduce Long Lines
- Is Retrieving Baggage From the Overhead Storage Bin Considered Cutting a Line?
- 7 Tips on How to Ease the Baggage Claim Carousel “War Zone”
- Baggage Fees to Increase by Spirit Airlines During the Holiday Season
- Skycaps Accused of Stealing Cash Collected From Overweight Baggage Fees
- Censorship on Avoiding Baggage Fees?
- Electronics Stolen from Checked Baggage: Is There Any Recourse?
- She Comes With a Lot of Baggage
- Packing the Kitchen Sink as Carry-On Baggage
All photographs ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
