Travelers get their bags tagged by an Alaska Airlines employee at Seatte-Tacoma International Airport. The airline announced Thursday that it will raise checked baggage fees on North American flights. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times, 2023)
By Angela Lim
Seattle Times features reporter
Alaska Airlines announced Thursday that it will raise checked baggage fees for its North American flights, following suit after several carriers across the U.S. raised fees this week to offset soaring jet fuel costs from the war with Iran.
For flights booked on or after April 10, travelers will pay $5 more for their first checked bag; $10 more for a second checked bag; and $50 more for a third. Prices were changed “due to ongoing volatility in fuel prices and an uncertain global environment,” the airline said in a news release.
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Travelers on Alaska and Hawaiian will now pay $45 for their first checked bag and $55 for their second — price hikes of 12.5% and 22%, respectively. Checking a third bag (and any additional luggage) will cost $200 per bag, representing a 33% bump from the previous rate of $150.
The price hikes mirror baggage bumps across the industry.
As of this week, Delta Air Lines charges $45 and $55 for travelers’ first and second checked bags, respectively — increases of $10, announced Tuesday — and $200 for a third checked bag, a $50 uptick, as reported by The Associated Press. The AP also reported that Southwest Airlines raised checked bag fees by $10; United and JetBlue scaled up prices, too.
For Seattle’s hometown airline, Atmos Rewards status members and eligible cardholders of an Atmos Rewards Visa or Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard will still see their preestablished benefits, including free checked bags. In the news release, the airline stated that there will not be changes to its Hawai‘i and Alaska-specific Huakaʻi or Club 49 programs, either.
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Alaska Airlines will also stop offering its $5 prepay bag discount for travelers who check their luggage online at least four hours before departure. The changes affect all North American flights booked starting Friday on Alaska and Hawaiian.
To learn more about the ʻokina diacritical mark in Hawaiʻi, visit st.news/language
Angela Lim: anlim@seattletimes.com. Angela Lim is a general assignment reporter for The Seattle Times features department where she covers breaking and trending news, consumer travel, local media, communities and other topics.