baggage fees posts

The easiest and cheapest way to travel is with a carry-on - and no checked baggage. But how do you fit it all in? Jason Cochran has the answer. Watch his video for tips and never overpack (and overpay) again.

There's something strangely satisfying and less stressful about flying with only carry-on luggage.

The first snicker of satisfaction comes when you arrive at the airport with your boarding pass already printed off the internet and breeze past the line of people waiting to check in their bags. The second is knowing that you've avoided paying check-in baggage fees (this is not so much an issue on Canadian airlines, but you really need to watch out for them in the U.S. or on budget airlines around the world -- they hurt. Ouch!) Third is knowing that the airline won't lose your luggage (it's a slim chance, but it does happen.) And fourth is being able to walk straight off the plane, past those waiting for the baggage conveyor belt to start up, and straight out of the airport.

Before you say that there's no way you could fit everything you need into your carry-on, read on.

By Barbara Thau


Flying the friendly skies doesn't feel so friendly these days.

What seems like a mounting list of hidden and not-so-hidden airline fees can make travelers feel like they're being taken for more than just one kind of ride.

And you're not just imagining that flight-related fees seem to be buzzing through more and more of your travel budget. It's a sign of the times.


The airline industry has been hit hard by both high fuel prices and the recession, Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of FareCompare.com, told WalletPop. As a result, it failed to turn a profit in 2009. But that changed last year as consumers started to help foot the bill for the airlines' woes, "mostly on the back of fees," Seaney says.

Fees to check baggage and change a ticket have hit consumers the hardest, he says. But that doesn't mean travelers have no recourse.

Here's a primer on how you can avoid a number of these fees or at least keep them to a minimum.

Bag Checking Fees

First-checked-bag fees started to become widespread in 2008, "coinciding to some degree with the run-up in oil prices," Seaney says.

In July 2008, gas prices peaked at a whopping $140 a barrel.

So on most domestic flights the major carriers now charge about $25 each way for the first checked bag and between $30 and $35 for the second. Prices can really take off if you're traveling as a family.

To avoid that cost, a simple answer is to fly airlines that don't charge for luggage -- that would be Westjet and Air Canada in Canada, and Southwest and JetBlue in the US, Seaney says. (Both Air Canada and Westjet charge CAD$20 for the second piece of checked baggage).

But if that's not an option and you fly often, find out which airlines offer special membership rewards and frequent flier programs that waive baggage-check fees.