So, American Airlines is hiking their checked bag fees again. It’s one of those things that shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it still stings when you’re checking your ticket price. They’re raising the first and second checked bag fees by $10 each for domestic and short-haul international flights, starting this Thursday. Honestly, the smell of burnt coffee from the breakroom is distracting me, but it’s clear the industry is feeling the pressure from fuel costs.
Everything is getting more expensive, especially with jet fuel. Prices were hanging around $85 to $90 a barrel back in February, but thanks to the chaos in the Middle East—specifically the shipping disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz—those costs have shot up to about $209 per barrel globally. That’s according to data from Misryoum. It’s a massive jump, and the airlines are clearly trying to protect their margins before things get even more out of hand.
Wait, I should clarify the specifics on the third bag. It’s going up by $50, making it $200 total for those extra-heavy packers—or maybe it was already that way for some places like Canada? It’s hard to keep track of the fine print sometimes.
There’s more to the story for basic economy fliers. If you’re flying that route, watch out for an additional $5 bump on bag fees starting May 18. And that’s not even the end of it—those same passengers are going to get hit with fees for picking their seats, and those complimentary system-wide upgrades are off the table. Well, actually, they were already limited, but now they’re just gone entirely for that tier starting in mid-May.
At least those in premium cabins are safe. They’ll still get their free baggage on both domestic and international flights, so there’s that. It seems like the divide between cabin classes is just widening—not that we didn’t know that already, but it’s getting pretty pronounced now.
Maybe the industry will stabilize, or maybe this is just the new normal for travel. It’s a lot to consider before your next trip.