After the increase fees, American Airlines charges $ 350 million in bags in the second quarter

American Airlines earned more than $ 350 million by charging baggage fees between April and June, breaking records after raising rates a year ago.

US airlines charged $ 1.5 billion for their luggage during the three-month period, despite hundreds of cancellations due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max line of aircraft on March 13, according to reports. data released Monday by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the United States.

Fort Worth-based American managed to increase its baggage fee revenue by 12% in the second quarter. Delta Air Lines Atlanta increased revenue from additional baggage fees by 42 per cent to $ 288 million.

Baggage fees continue to be a major source of revenue for airlines and increasingly important, especially after last year's fee increases. American followed suit with Delta and United a year ago by increasing the $ 25 fee for the first checked luggage at $ 30 and $ 35 to $ 40 for the second piece of luggage.

In total, US carriers charged approximately $ 264 million more for baggage in the second quarter of 2019 than in the same period of the previous year, before the increase in baggage charges occurred. .

"We have not yet reached the breaking point where travelers are unwilling to pay for luggage," said Christy Rodriguez with Upgraded Points, a credit and travel tracking website.

Even Southwest Airlines, which allows passengers to check in two bags for free, saw its revenue rise 2.4% to $ 13.7 million.

American Airlines has continued to dominate carriers for most of the revenue from baggage fees, with $ 350 million for the period and $ 668 million so far this year. Delta ranked second at $ 288 million and United ranked third at $ 275 million, an increase over the previous year.

Government data released on Monday included financial statistics showing US-based airline revenues had risen to about $ 2.4 billion in the second quarter, despite the difficulties experienced with the grounding of US-based airlines. the new class of 737 Boeing aircraft that still have not been allowed to fly again.

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Revenue from baggage fees has increased steadily since their introduction in 2008.

Very low-cost carriers such as Allegiant and Spirit have shown the larger airlines that customers do not fear the pay-per-view fees, Rodriguez said.

Spirit is able to charge the most per passenger, with around $ 26.61 in baggage fees per passenger, according to a recent study by Upgraded Points, based in Austin. In comparison, American reports a little less than $ 10 per passenger in baggage fees.