Bag Fees Still Bringing in Big Bucks

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Japan. I'd love to take a month off and visit the cities, temples, and countryside. I'm fascinated by the country's juxtaposition of ancient traditions and modern ambitions."

Travel Motto: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” –Terry Pratchett

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window."

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Bag fees are lucrative. There is no disputing this and, really, it’s kind of old news at this point. But it’s still staggering to see just how lucrative they are. The top ten airlines in terms of bag fee revenue brought in a staggering $669 million in the second quarter (April through June) of 2009. Here are the top earners:

American: $118.44 million
Delta: $118.36 million
US Airways: $104.14 million
United: $67.41 million
Northwest: $67.19 million
Continental: $63.16 million
AirTran: $40.54 million
Spirit: $16.18 million
Frontier: $13.46 million
JetBlue: $12.35 million

JetBlue is the only carrier listed that doesn’t charge a first-bag fee. My quick and rough guess is that a first-bag fee would bring its revenue up around AirTran’s number, so theoretically it’s leaving between $20 and $30 million on the table. One has to imagine that Southwest would appear in the upper half of this list if it charged for the first and second bag.

As always, you can keep track of all the airline fees with our Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees.

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