Carriers Raked In Over $6 Billion In Baggage And Change Fees Last Year

U.S. Airlines are likely to look to increase baggage and other add-on fees in the coming year, and some have already started boosting such fees.

Airlines collected over $6 billion in baggage and change fees in 2013, according to a report from the International Business Times. United Continental Holdings did not wait for the first of the year to boost its fees. The carrier has already doubled its fees for oversize bags to $200, and upped  its fee for passengers with three or more bags from $100 to $125 for each bag. The airline said through a spokesperson that the charge was partly due to the infrastructure needed to handle oversize luggage.

Delta collected about a billion dollars in fees last year, with UAL in second at about $650 million. Spirit's fee structure is a little different. Pay online when you book your ticket, and the bag fee is $6 ... up from $5. But then it starts to get expensive ... and if you gate-check luggage on Spirit, they're going to ding you for $100 each bag.

FMI: www.dot.gov