There are two distinct parts to today’s “airline fee era”: brand new fees, and making the fees we already pay more onerous. This post falls into the latter category – and, no surprise, really – it involves Spirit Airlines.
Yes, once again, Spirit is leading the way to higher baggage fees. You already know they’re the first (and so far only) domestic airline to charge for a carryon bag.
Now, a new wrinkle.
As of this week, the Florida-based discount carrier has lowered the weight allowance for checked-bags; down from the 50 pounds most airlines allow you, to just 40 pounds. Go over that limit by a single pound and you will pay.
Here’s the breakdown according to Spirit’s website (and in fairness, the airline charges slightly lower fees if you pay to join its $9 Club):
- Regular first checked-bag fee: $28 one-way
- Overweight baggage fee (41 – 50 pounds): $25 each-way
- Total roundtrip cost for one slightly overweight checked-bag on Spirit: $106
Compare the cost of that same bag on JetBlue or Southwest: $0.
Maybe you don’t care. Maybe your Spirit flight is cheap enough so the additional cost doesn’t matter. However, this is something you should know before you head to the airport, and I think you’ll find this FareCompare article called Airline Baggage Fees: Know the Different Fees for Different Bags extremely helpful.
One more thing: overweight fees can vary. For example, one of my employees saw her daughter off to Prague last summer on Delta, and was mildly upset when she noticed her daughter’s suitcase weighed a hefty 55 pounds – but that was nothing compared to her reaction when she was asked to fork over $150 in overweight fees!
As they say, it pays to know before you go. Or you could pay – dearly.