It started with JetBlue. Then United got on board. Now Delta is joining in with a hike in baggage fees in an effort to curb rising fuel costs for U.S. airlines.
Delta, which has hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Salt Lake and Los Angeles, among others, and the largest U.S. airline by revenue, is going from $35 per checked bag, to $45 per bag. That $10 hike is also added to a second checked bag, now $55. If you need a third bag, get ready to fork over $200 which is a $50 increase.
Those are for each way, which could add significant costs to round trip tickets. These higher fees apply to domestic trips as well as “select short-haul international routes.”
The cost increases will kick in for flights booked as of Wednesday, April 8.
“These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics,” the company said in a statement.
Jet fuel prices are to be blamed for the increase. Those have doubled since the start of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which have driven up global costs.
The prices have gone from around $2.40 per gallon to about $4.70 according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index.
According to federal data, U.S. airlines collected over $7 billion in baggage fees in 2024.
The baggage fee hikes are also being matched by an increase in the cost of flights.
It remains to be seen just how much the cost of an airline ticket will increase, or how long the war lasts with U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz looming.
Trump gave Tehran a Tuesday night deadline, warning the U.S. would hit Iran’s power plants and other infrastructure targets. Early Tuesday morning, Trump escalated those threats, saying that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran does not meet his latest deadline for the Islamic Republic to agree to a deal that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
