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NAVIGATION The Voyage Report > News > Airlines Collected $4.6B in Baggage Fees in 2017; Top Carriers Revealed

Airlines Collected $4.6B in Baggage Fees in 2017; Top Carriers Revealed

May 9, 2018by Mark Albert
baggage fees

WASHINGTON (TVR) – Baggage fees have hit a record, with U.S. airlines hauling in nearly $4.6 billion worth from passengers in 2017.

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Travelers paid $4.57 billion to the 13 largest U.S.-based carriers last year, up 6% from 2016, according to new data released this week from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Some flyers chose airline-branded credit cards to avoid baggage fees, so the total certainly would have been much higher without those types of agreements.

More airlines are eliminating free bags, especially for those who buy basic economy fares — even on international routes, where legacy carriers have long offered at least one free checked bag.

Airlines raked in a net, after-tax profit of $15.5 billion in 2017, up 10.7% from 2016.

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Top Airlines for Baggage Fees

American Airlines collected the most baggage fees of any U.S. carrier in 2017.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said it made $1.17 billion from its luggage levies last year.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines came in second place by hauling in $907 million.

Here is the full list, according to the BTS:

  1. American: $1.17 billion
  2. Delta: $907.6 million
  3. United: $794.4 million
  4. Spirit: $492.6 million
  5. Frontier: $364.1 million
  6. JetBlue: $289.8 million
  7. Allegiant: $192.5 million
  8. Alaska: $147.2 million
  9. Hawaiian: $81.1 million
  10. Virgin America: $62.6 million
  11. Southwest: $46.1 million
  12. Sun Country: $20 million
  13. Island Air Hawaii: $4.9 million

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Total 2017 Airline Fees

In addition to the record baggage fees, airlines also made billions off other ancillary revenue.

The annual BTS report showed U.S. airlines collected $2.9 billion from reservation change fees.

American also drew the most in this fee category, bringing in $878 million, while Delta narrowly came in second place with $830 million.

The U.S. scheduled passenger service airlines booked an “after-tax net profit as a group” for the fifth year in a row, the government said.

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Mark Albert
Mark is a Peabody Award-winner who has reported in newsrooms across the country, most recently as a freelance correspondent at CBS News. He's traveled to 60 countries so far and plans to get to the rest—with a little luck.
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