United Airlines raises baggage fees, following Delta and Continental

United Airlines matches baggage fee increases

MINNEAPOLIS — United Airlines joined the latest round of baggage-fee increases on Wednesday.

The move follows hikes by Delta and Continental.

United said it will now charge $25 to check the first bag and $35 for the second. That’s $5 more than it charged previously. It takes effect on tickets bought beginning Thursday for travel after Jan. 21.

The new fees are the same at Continental and Delta. Airlines discount the fees by a few dollars for travelers who pay online in advance instead of at the airport.

The Delta fee began on Tuesday for tickets purchased starting Jan. 5. Continental’s higher fee takes effect for tickets purchased Jan. 9 for travel beginning on Saturday.

American Airlines has not changed its fees, spokesman Tim Smith said, but they’re studying the moves by the other airlines. Southwest Airlines does not charge to check the first two bags.

Baggage fees began in 2008 and add hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the airlines that charge them. US Airways Group Inc. said on Jan. 6 that it took in about $400 million from add-on charges including baggage fees in 2009.

They’re still losing money, though. Of the six biggest airlines, analysts expect a profit for 2009 only at Southwest — the only carrier that doesn’t charge baggage fees.