Airlines turned a surprising profit this year from charging for baggage and other service fees
Hope you don’t mind paying the fee for checking a bag when you fly, because it has proven to be profitable for all U.S. airlines. Chances are those fees are not going away anytime soon.
The Department of Transportation reported last week that U.S. airlines collected $2.56 billion in baggage fees alone from January through September. That represents a 29 percent increase over last year.
July to September was the best quarter profits in at least four years. All due to the baggage fees, for which airlines collected $906 million and other service fees, such as changing a reservation, in which $590 million was collected. The job of the airlines is to transport people for a price, yet that is no longer where they are making their profit.
The biggest profits in the first nine months were seen by Delta with $733 million, United with $431 million and US Airways boasting a $388 million profit.
This is a huge turn around from last year when the U.S. airline industry lost $3.4 billion.
US Airways President, Scott Kirby, recently said that the fees for checked bags and other services represent 100 percent of the profit made this year.
Airlines are finally seeing signs of recovery since the terrorist attacks of 2001. Planes are finally being filled to capacity again.
