Airlines collect enormous revenue through baggage fees

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Baggage fees can be a headache while traveling.

Each year, airlines are raking in the cash from baggage fees.

In 2016, American Airlines made over $1 billion.

American Airlines told Channel 9 that it collected more baggage fees than any other airline in 2016 because it's the largest airline.

Passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport said that no matter which airline, they are fed up.

Baggage fees per airline (according to the U.S. Department of Transportation):

• American Airlines: $1.117 billion
• Delta: $872 million
• United: $690 million
• Spirit: $434 million
• Frontier: $306 million

Delta, United, Spirit, and Frontier were all in the top five but came nowhere close to American.

"It's an incredible revenue source. I guess they figure if they can get away with it and there's not a choice to go somewhere else. They’ll play the game," traveler Steve Friedman said.

Friedman doesn't fly American but has to travel with extra bags for his job.

He said it could make a big difference on his ticket price.

"I end up traveling with maybe $60 to $75 worth of fees, so it's exorbitant," Friedman said.

Experts with The Voyage Report said airlines charge nine times the amount of baggage fees than they did a decade ago.

They said the days of an all-inclusive fare are over.

"Airlines have figured out they can make more money by splitting some of these perks we have come to expect as individual add-ons," Mark Albert, of The Voyage Report, said.

Channel 9 received an email from American Airlines saying:

"Many customers get complimentary checked baggage. We are the largest airline in the world, so that will directly correlate to why we collect the most baggage fees. Our fees are comparable to the other major airlines."

As much as passengers want those fees to go down or go away, experts said they'll only go up as those basic economy fares expand across all airlines.

Experts said a lower fare often doesn't include bags, and on American Airlines, the cheapest option doesn't even include the overhead bin.

Cox Media Group