Business
Business

Baggage fee revenue rises 12 percent

By
June 21, 2016

U.S. airlines collected more than $974 million in baggage fees in the first three months of the year, according to federal figures.

That’s up from $864.7 million a year earlier.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines collected $197.7 million in baggage fees in the first quarter of 2016, making it the second-highest ranked airline for baggage fee take, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

At No. 1 was Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, which collected $262.5 million in baggage fees in the first quarter. Chicago-based United Airlines collected $158.9 million, putting it in the No. 3 spot.

American is the largest airline measured by total first quarter revenue at $9.4 billion, just ahead of Delta at nearly $9.3 billion and United at $8.2 billion.

Ultra low-cost carriers Spirit and Frontier ranked fourth and fifth in baggage fee revenue, respectively. Spirit collected $102.6 million in the quarter, while Frontier collected nearly $70.8 million. They are the seventh and ninth biggest airlines by total first quarter revenue.

Southwest, Atlanta’s second-largest carrier behind Delta, does not charge for the first and second checked bags.

U.S. airlines also collected $745 million in reservation cancellation and change fees in the first quarter.

About the Author

As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.

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