United Airlines and US Airways have joined their competitor American Airlines in imposing a $15 fee for passengers who want to check one bag. American instituted the baggage fee last month.
Both airlines said the fee is a necessity in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices that have the industry as a whole bucking strong financial headwinds.
"With record-breaking fuel prices, we must pursue new revenue opportunities, while continuing to offer competitive fares, by tailoring our products and services around what our customers value most and are willing to pay for," said United Chief Operating Officer John Tague.
United's baggage fee goes into effect for tickets for domestic flights purchased on or after June 13, 2008. Flights to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Canada will carry the one-bag fee starting August 18.
While first-class passengers won't have to pay the fee, enough coach passengers will to produce an estimated $275 million a year, the airline said.
US Airways will begin tacking on the baggage charge for travel on or after July 9. The airline recently started charging passengers $25 for second checked bags. The new fee applies to domestic flights and routes to and from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
With oil prices surging, airlines have tried to raise extra money by cutting out in-flight snacks and other services passengers once took for granted. The baggage fee, adopted now by two of the largest "legacy" carriers, is likely to become an industry norm.
And it may be just a matter of time before airlines re-examine fares. Though reluctant to drastically raise ticket prices because of competitive pressures, they may ultimately be forced to do just that. Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson told reporters in April that his airline needed to raise ticket prices 20 percent just to stay even with fuel costs.
