Just in case you needed yet another incentive to pack all your travel gear in your carry-on, Delta has increased the price of your first checked bag by 17%.
This increase adds $5 to the previous (by no means insignificant) domestic flight fare of $30.
Delta Air Lines is the third major U.S. airline to increase baggage fees in the past few weeks.
The move follows similar increases announced by American Airlines and United Airlines three days apart in February.These high rates themselves followed rate hikes by smaller carriers. alaska airlines and JetBlue Airways.
Large U.S. carriers often imitate each other’s price changes, a behavior behavioral analysts sometimes refer to as herd instinct.
Delta Air Lines announced Tuesday that the following baggage items will be initially checked on domestic flights: There is now a $35 fee.
The price for the second bag has increased from $40 to $45.
The last time Delta Air Lines increased baggage fees on domestic flights was in 2018.
The airline said the increase will help address unspecified industry cost increases.
If you have status benefits, you can check your first bag for free. If you have a first class ticket, Check out 2 free bags.
Baggage fees have been a reliable source of revenue for airlines since American Airlines introduced them in 2008, when jet fuel prices were skyrocketing.
In 2022, the last full year for which statistics are available, U.S. airlines Checked baggage fees $6.8 billionAmerican leads with $1.4 billion and United with $1.1 billion.
Delta Air Lines came in third place with $979.4 million.
