United raises checked bag fee to $30, joining JetBlue

United Airlines is raising
its baggage fees.
Seth Wenig / AP
Photo

• United
  Airlines became the second major US carrier to increase its
  fee for checked baggage on Friday, joining JetBlue in
  charging $30 for a passenger’s first checked bag and $40 for a
  second. 
• The move by the Chicago-based carrier comes just a week
  after
  JetBlue raised its fees for checked
  baggage.  
• “These changes allow us to continue investing in the
  overall customer experience in today’s marketplace,” United
  Airlines said in a statement to Business Insider.
• Many took to social media to complain about the
  change. 

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United Airlines became the second major US carrier to hike its
fee for checked baggage in recent weeks, joining JetBlue Airways in charging
$30 for a passenger’s first checked bag and $40 for a second
checked bag.

United announced on Friday, on the eve of the Labor Day holiday
weekend, that it will be increasing fees for checking
a first bag from $25 to $30 and a second bag from $35 to $40 for
tickets issued
on or after August 31. The fees apply to flights to and from
North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. 

“As we continue to make investments that make travel on
United better, we are making adjustments to our checked bag fees
in select markets — most of which have not been changed for the
past eight years,” a United Airlines spokesperson said in a
statement to Business Insider. “These changes allow us to
continue investing in the overall customer experience in today’s
marketplace.”

United customers with MileagePlus Premier status or who
purchase their ticket with a MileagePlus credit card will still
receive complimentary checked luggage, the airline
added. 

The move by the Chicago-based carrier comes just a week
after
JetBlue raised its fees for checked baggage to new
highs.  

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines both charge
$25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, while fees for the
third piece of luggage vary. Southwest Airlines is the only
large US airline that doesn’t charge for a passenger’s first two
pieces of checked luggage.

In recent years, the airline industry has become increasingly
reliant upon ancillary revenue generated by the unbundling of
airfares. 

Unbundling is the practice of charging for various services like
baggage check, security check, seat assignments, meals, WiFi use,
and early boarding outside of the posted ticket price. In short,
it’s charging little fees for different elements of travel that
were once rolled into the price of a ticket. 

After the fee was announced on Friday, multiple users took to
Twitter to share their displeasure with United’s latest price
hike.