United raises fee for 2nd checked bag

Flying across the pond on United Airlines? Pack light, because United has raised the fee for a second checked bag to $100 each way on many international flights.

Affecting flights to Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East, the higher fee, a $30 increase, is enough to generate an additional $30 million for the airline, the Chicago Tribune reports.

For now, you can avoid that fee by limiting yourself to one checked bag, which is free on trans-Atlantic flights. But analyst Hunter Keay told the Trib that a charge for checking that first bag could be next.

"Unfortunately, airlines tend to follow a lead even when it may not be on their own list for change," Randy Petersen, founder of Milepoint.com told Josh Sanburn at Time magazine. "Bottom line, this 'fee for all' will most likely affect all other airlines."

United's fee for a second checked trans-Atlantic bag was $70 for tickets purchased before June 1 and was $50 a year ago. It remains $70 for flights to Asia and most South American destinations and is still free for trips to Japan.

Are we doomed to paying these fees? Is there no end in sight? "The bags will eventually cost more than the seat," commented one reader of Smarter Travel.

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• You don't have to pay if you have elite status or are flying first or business class. But that doesn't help most vacationers.
  
• You could become a light-packing specialist -- no more than three outfits, including the one you're wearing on the plane; the shoes on your feet and maybe some flip-flops; a little detergent and a short clothesline. All can easily fit into a carry-on backpack. You'll be doing hand wash during your trip, but you can forget about checking a bag.

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