Alaska Airways up to date its checked baggage price web page over the weekend, elevating costs for checked baggage to $35 for the primary checked bag (up $5) beginning Jan. 2, 2024.
Alaska’s transfer may have knock-on results, if historical past is an indicator. It has been a number of years since we noticed a spherical of airline checked-bag price will increase, although these items do generally tend to occur in clusters. In actual fact, in 2018, we noticed three airlines raise checked bag fees inside simply days of each other.
Till Jan. 2, the primary checked bag on Alaska is $30 and the second is $35. After that, Alaska will cost $35 for the primary bag and $40 for the second bag. That matches the pricing at JetBlue, which is already charging $35 for the primary bag. Nevertheless, a lot of the largest U.S. airways are nonetheless at $30 for the primary checked bag.
The excellent news is that a lot of Alaska’s greatest prospects will nonetheless get free checked luggage, together with these flying in firstclass, those that maintain the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card and people with MVP, MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K or 100K.
This modification comes only a few days after Alaska made big changes to elite status for subsequent yr, together with making all standing based mostly on Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and providing you with extra incentives in direction of elite standing by means of bank card spend.
Associated: Alaska Airlines credit cards get additional perks, new restrictions — and a higher annual fee
Whereas this variation may not seem like a giant deal at face worth, this variation may presumably set a precedent for different airways to lift checked baggage charges.
“I’d not be shocked to see different carriers elevate their baggage charges in due time,” stated Tim Jue, a San Francisco-based aviation and journey reporter. Jue continued, “The airline trade likes to behave in unison, and if there’s a possibility to extend income someplace, it is a sure-fire wager airways will capitalize on it. All it takes is one service to take that leap of religion and everybody else often piles on instantly afterwards.”
“Airways often, although not all the time, match one another when there’s cash to be made,” stated Brian Sumers, an trade skilled who authors the Airline Observer e-newsletter. He continued, “Bag charges are an attention-grabbing phenomenon. A lot is manufactured from the practically $7 billion U.S. carriers constituted of them final yr. However actually, that is a pittance in comparison with what main carriers make from bank card income.”
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Southwest famously doesn’t charge for the primary two checked luggage. United Airways already expenses $35 a bag, however you may get that right down to $30 by paying for luggage prematurely.
Associated: How to avoid checked baggage fees on major domestic airlines
“The price of doing enterprise for many airways goes up, and we’ll begin seeing carriers look to extract more cash out of their prospects,” stated Jue. “I feel baggage charges are simply the beginning of that effort, and I would anticipate different carriers to quietly elevate their checked bag charges within the coming days or even weeks.”
Sumers, nonetheless, stated it could be less complicated than that. “In elevating their baggage charges, airways could also be attempting to seize money from customers within the type of charges. However simply as possible, they’re attempting to coax some vacationers into getting a brand new bank card, which — you guessed it — comes with “free” checked baggage. As bag charges climb up, a bank card turns into a extra engaging deal.”
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