US airlines collected US$4.2b in baggage fees last year
Airline passengers paid about US$1m more a day in baggage fees last year, according to figures released by the DoT. Baggage fees collected across the 25 largest US airlines in 2016 totaled $4.2b, up 10% from 2015. Not all fees climbed last year — fees collected for changing a reservation actually fell by 4% to $2.9b. Total passenger fares also dipped by a bit more than 1%, falling to $124.2b. Lower fares meant that revenue declined even though the number of passenger miles flown grew by 3%. Airlines as a group reported a total of $13.6b in profits, down 45% from 2015, despite the fact that fuel costs were lower in 2016. Those savings were mostly eaten up by higher labour costs. The report came the same day as executives from several of the nation’s airlines testified before Congress about their industry’s customer service. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-05-03/general/us-airlines-collected-us-4-2b-in-baggage-fees-last-year
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US airlines collected US$4.2b in baggage fees last year
Airline passengers paid about US$1m more a day in baggage fees last year, according to figures released by the DoT. Baggage fees collected across the 25 largest US airlines in 2016 totaled $4.2b, up 10% from 2015. Not all fees climbed last year — fees collected for changing a reservation actually fell by 4% to $2.9b. Total passenger fares also dipped by a bit more than 1%, falling to $124.2b. Lower fares meant that revenue declined even though the number of passenger miles flown grew by 3%. Airlines as a group reported a total of $13.6b in profits, down 45% from 2015, despite the fact that fuel costs were lower in 2016. Those savings were mostly eaten up by higher labour costs. The report came the same day as executives from several of the nation’s airlines testified before Congress about their industry’s customer service. <br/>
