OAG Travel News

United Airlines today will begin charging $5 morefor bags checked-in at the airport instead of online. That raises the fee to $20 for a first bag checked at the airport and $30 for a second. Customers can save $5 by paying to check their bags online.

That comes as Bloomberg News reports (via The Charlotte Observer) that U.S. airlines collected $1.1 billion in bag fees in 2008, more than double than in 2007, "when the fees were levied chiefly on fliers who had heavy baggage or checked more than two pieces." The figures come from the Department of Transportation, with the 2008 total being the highest since tracking began in 1990.

Bloomberg says the data "gave the first glimpse of U.S. carriers' extra revenue (since they rushed to add new fees last year amid soaring fuel costs). With jet fuel prices retreating, the cash is helping soften the blow from a plunge in travel during the recession." Bloomberg says American and US Airways collected the most money from bag fees.

Source: www.usatoday.com report by Ben Mutzabaugh