Delta fees for extra bags take big leap

Delta Air Lines upped the ante on bag fees Tuesday to discourage passengers from bringing extra luggage on their trips.

The Atlanta-based carrier boosted its fee from $25 to $50 for a second checked bag, and many customers traveling within the United States will have to pay $125 for a third bag and $200 for a fourth bag.

"These changes are necessary to help offset the record-breaking cost of fuel to our business," said Delta spokesman Anthony Black.

First-class and some other Delta passengers can continue to check up to three bags for free. For many customers, the higher Delta fees take effect for tickets purchased on or after Thursday and for travel that starts Aug. 5 or later.

American Airlines caught the attention of consumers in May when it announced that it would start charging many of its passengers a $15 fee to check a first bag. Northwest and United were among the carriers that matched that move, but Delta has taken a different path.

Black said, "We believe customers should be allowed to carry up to 90 pounds free of charge, which includes one checked bag and one carry-on bag."

But Delta has decided to ratchet up fees beyond that point.

"Commercial airlines are the cheapest way to deliver bags in America," said William Swelbar, an airline expert with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The heavier the load on an airplane, the more costly it is to fly that airplane. Swelbar said that Delta seems to be saying: "If I'm going to be in the moving business, I'm going to be compensated like a moving business."

Making space for cargo

Delta plans to charge $200 each for bags four through 10 checked by a passenger.

Delta's Black said: "Compared to some shipping and luggage forwarders' costs, our customers continue to receive a tremendous amount of value."

Tom Parsons, who operates the bestfares.com website, said, "They'd rather put high-paying cargo on that plane rather than people's bags." If there are fewer bags in airplanes' bellies, there is more space for businesses to move cargo.

Julius Maldutis, a New York-based aviation consultant, said, "Airlines have been charging for everything they can think of, except the basic fares, because they believe they are still competing with each other on airline ticket prices."

A low-fare carrier and big network airline might offer the same fare.

But the major airlines still need ways to increase revenue to deal with higher fuel bills. "Rather than raising fares, airlines have now found ways of charging for everything except your strings on your sneaker," Maldutis said.

At Northwest, the carrier started charging $25 for a second checked bag in May. Earlier this month, Northwest announced that it would charge $15 for the first checked bag for travel beginning Aug. 28.

"Customers are already changing their behavior by packing more efficiently to avoid the fees," said Northwest spokeswoman Tammy Lee. The carrier has recorded a decrease in the number of customers checking a second bag.

She added that Northwest executives think their current fee policy is working well, so it's unclear whether Northwest later might match Delta on the second-bag fee.

"We continue to take a wait-and-see approach as we watch what the rest of the airline industry does to address these astronomical oil prices," Lee said. While oil prices have fallen in recent days, they still are substantially higher than they were a year ago.

Industry insiders say new and higher fees are aggravating many passengers.

"Most people don't think about the bag fees when they are purchasing a ticket," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. Consequently, he said, the fees are viewed as somewhat "insidious."

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709