I’ve mentioned the benefits of packing as little as possible in past posts – you save time otherwise spent waiting in baggage claim and avoid the risk of lost luggage. A year ago the airlines added a $25 fee for a second checked-bag. Now the airlines are charging $15 for your first checked bag as well, so packing light is even more important.

Here’s a summary of the new airline baggage fees announced on May 5 (from Expedia.com):  Baggage Fee chart.

We flew to Amelia Island, Florida for a wedding on May 7 — just after the new fees went into effect — and extra baggage fees for two of us added another $110 to our trip cost. Ouch!

Curb-side Check-in
In addition to the new first-checked-bag fee, airlines including United, Delta, Northwest and Alaska Airlines charge $2-3/bag + tip for curb-side check-in fees.

So if you’re like me and want to avoid paying for baggage fees in the future, check out these tips for packing light for carry-on:

• Rolling Luggage
• Flying with a Carry-on? Here’s what Not to Bring
• Keeping it Light: Packing Tips

Southwest Airlines, of course, continues to be the shining exception and charges no additional fees for checked bags. That and their flexible travel date policy makes them a favorite with me.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 16th, 2009 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.