United to Charge for Each Checked Bag

United joins American and US Airways in charging non-premium passengers for all checked bags

Following American's ballsy lead and US Airways' recent copycat move, United Airlines obnoxiously announced "two changes to its domestic checked bag policy. The service fee to check one bag for domestic travel will be $15 each way and the fee to check three or more bags, overweight bags or items that require special handling will increase from $100 to $125 or from $200 to $250, depending on the item." What isn't stated is whether the first checked bag will now be $15 and the second remain $25, or whether the first two bags will cost $15 each -- but I'm betting if United has a chance to collect $40 instead of $30, it will do so.

These charges apply to non-premium-status, back-cabin flights within the US and to/from Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands for flights beginning on August 18, 2008. The $15 service fee does not apply toUnited First or United Business or who have premier status customers with United or Star Alliance.

“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 John Tague, executive vice president and chief operating officer, according to United's press release.

Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott isn't buying it. He wrote: "When fuel prices come back down — as they are almost certain to — just pay close attention to all the new extras that have sprung up in the last few months...Does anyone think airlines will back off when times are better? Of course not. Airlines have been waiting for an excuse to charge us for anything that isn’t bolted down on the plane....No, none of these fees are going to go away...No doubt, it’s far more difficult to make a buck in the airline business than it was just six months ago because of sky-high oil prices. But that’s not the whole story. Airlines have always wanted to add these fees, and in that sense, the higher fuel costs are nothing more than a smokescreen. They are not giving us what we want, as United Airlines disingenuously claimed when it announced its new surcharges yesterday. They are giving us what they want."

Just yesterday, I recommended a chart on comparing extra fees that domestic airlines socking to passengers. Now, FareCompare's Rick Seaney is going to have to modify the chart.