Charging for Second Bag

Recently numerous airlines have started to charge passengers if they want to check a second bag. Before, airlines would allow you to check two bags per-person and only charge extra if you needed to check a third. That is not the case anymore for Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways. The aforementioned airlines are now starting to charge $25 to check a second bag.


For most ‘casual’ travelers, this may not pose any inconvenience whatsoever; but what about a business traveler or a traveler who has to carry many samples or a one-of-a-kind item with them? Should they have to pay these new fees? Some airlines are exempting those who fly first class or passengers who participate in their miles program (usually only preferred members) from having to pay the extra fee.

So for those of you who do not meet the requirements that exempt you from this fee, what should you do? Some suggestions could be to try and pack lighter, if possible, or to try other methods of getting your goods to your destination. One could pay FedEx or UPS to ship their luggage to their destination, but this could end up costing more.

I went onto the UPS site to get a guesstimate for how much it would cost to ship luggage that weighed 51 pounds with the dimensions of 27 x 18 x 10 inches from Boston to San Francisco. If I sent off my luggage the day before I needed it, it would cost me $292 ($584 roundtrip). This price would include an extra charge for me to ship my package to a UPS center. In order to save myself some money I could send off my luggage five days before I plan on reaching my destination. If I choose this option, it would cost $59 ($118 roundtrip), which would also include the cost of shipping it to a UPS center.

Since there doesn’t seem to be a better option (if you have one I would love to hear it) I guess we will just have to drag our feet and pay the fee.