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Checking a bag on the airport has gotten pricier for travelers — and harder to avoid.
A checked bag is one stored in a plane’s cargo hold during a flight. While that service was free in years past, it’s now standard for major airlines to charge for checked bags, experts said.
Major U.S. airlines began doing so in 2008, levying around $15 a bag, said Katy Nastro, travel expert at low cost flight alert platform Going.
Today, it’s about double: $30 to $35 for one checked bag, Nastro said. Which means travelers who check a bag on each leg of a round-trip itinerary can add an additional $60 to $70 to the full cost of their basic fare. And rates generally increase for every additional checked bag.
Passengers paid about $6.8 billion in total baggage fees in 2022, the last full yr for which data can be found, in accordance with the Bureau of Transportation. That is up 17% from roughly $5.8 billion in 2019, though fewer passengers flew on U.S. carriers in 2022, Bureau data show.
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“Unless baggage is included in a higher-class (premium economy, first, business class, etc.) ticket, passengers should expect to pay a fee,” Eric Napoli, vice chairman of legal strategy at AirHelp, which helps passengers file claims for airline compensation, explained in an e-mail.
Here’s some advice from travel experts on methods to reduce those fees, and maybe avoid them altogether.
Fly with certain airlines
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There are just a few airlines that also don’t charge for a checked bag.
Southwest, for instance, is the one outlier within the U.S., experts said. The carrier allows two free checked bags.
The “Big Three” Gulf Airlines — Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates — still offer free baggage, as does Air India, in accordance with Aiden Higgins, senior editor of The Broke Backpacker website.
These carriers can have certain restrictions, including for luggage size and weight.
In fact, simply because they could not charge for luggage doesn’t suggest their fares are cheaper than others when assessing overall cost. They usually may not fly routes that work for travelers’ itineraries.
Mix bags
Travel partners might also consider combining suitcases.
A family of 4 may find a way to condense 4 bags into two, potentially cutting checked-bag fees in half, experts said.
Unless baggage is included in a higher-class [premium economy, first, business class, etc.] ticket, passengers should expect to pay a fee.
Eric Napoli
vice chairman of legal strategy at AirHelp
One caveat: Passengers need to contemplate airlines’ weight requirements for luggage and whether consolidating suitcases could trigger additional fees.
Skip checking a bag
Traveling light — only with a private item and/or carry-on bag, depending on what your airline and fare class permit totally free — is “the one fool-proof way” to avoid paying a checked-bag fee, Napoli said.
In fact, this may not be possible for everybody.
But passengers “can sneak quite a bit into the cabin” inside airline limits, especially with a well-packed backpack (aided by packing cubes) combined with a sling bag and/or a tote bag, Higgins said.
Passengers with softer, duffel-bag-type luggage that is more pliable can have a neater time meeting carry-on size requirements versus those with a tough case, Nastro said.
Consider a fare upgrade
Even the key carriers generally charge for carry-ons on basic-economy fares, experts said.
A better-tier ticket for the next cost might include a baggage allowance — through which case passengers may wind up paying the identical total price in comparison with a lower-cost fare while also getting some additional advantages like the flexibility to decide on a seat or make flight changes, experts said.
“For those who are using an aggregator like Skyscanner, it will possibly sometimes work out cheaper to go along with the 2nd or third most costly flight if the airline is [also] offering baggage,” Higgins said.
Travelers should read the effective print to discern what baggage is included of their ticket, which varies from airline to airline and ticket class, Napoli said.
Add bags early
Whether you are checking a bag or carrying one on for a fee, declaring that early can prevent money.
For instance, a regular passenger flying Spirit Airlines from Latest York to Los Angeles this week would pay $39 for a carry-on, in accordance with the carrier’s price chart. (A checked bag is cheaper: $34.)
But these prices assume passengers add their bags through the initial online booking process. Those that wait to pay until arriving on the gate, for instance, would pay $99 for a checked bag or carry-on, the chart indicates.
For individuals who know they’ll have to add a bag, “nine times out of 10 it is usually cheaper to do it upon booking” as an alternative of deferring until later, Nastro said.
Relatively high fees for “add ons” like bags mean a budget carrier is probably not the most cost effective option when assessing total cost and value, she said.
Buy a luggage scale, lightweight bags
Buying and using a luggage scale before traveling might help travelers avoid surprise fees on the airport attributable to exceeding a weight limit on checked bags.
“Not less than weigh your suitcase before you even book the flight,” Higgins said. “Once upon a time airlines might need turned a blind eye” to additional weight, but not any more, he said.
Travelers can even put money into ultralight luggage, Higgins said.
“You’ll be able to easily save 1 or 2 [kilograms] by buying specially designed ultralight travel gear,” he said. Nonetheless, such bags will be pricey and is probably not as durable as sturdier packs, he said.
Get a bank card or join a frequent flier program
“Many bank cards, especially airline-branded cards, offer free checked bags as a perk,” said Napoli.
In fact, travelers shouldn’t necessarily open a bank card account only for this perk, experts said. Some cards may additionally carry an annual fee, though travelers might come out ahead if their annual advantages (e.g., savings on bag fees) eclipse that expense.
“It varies bank card to bank card and airline to airline,” Nastro said.
Joining an airline’s frequent flier program might also include perks for travelers like free or extra baggage, Higgins said.