Delta hikes baggage fees: $23 for first, $32 for second

The higher fees take effect Tuesday for Delta passengers who booked their flights Jan. 5 or later and are checking bags on domestic flights. For those who pay the baggage fees when they check in online, the fees will be $23 for the first checked bag and $32 for the second checked bag. Those who pay the baggage fees at the airport ticket counter, kiosk or curbside will pay $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second.

US Airways had raised its maximum fees to those amounts last year. Continental is doing so later this week.

Until now at Delta, the fees have been $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for a second checked bag, with a $5 surcharge on each for travelers who didn’t pay online.

AirTran Airways, which is based in Orlando and has its largest hub in Atlanta, still charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second. A spokesman did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

American Airlines and US Airways charge $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second. US Airways also has an extra $5 surcharge for paying the fees at the airport. United still charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second, with a $5 surcharge on each for paying at the airport.

Delta and other carriers started charging a fee for a second checked bag on domestic flights in 2008, then added a fee for the first checked bag later that year. Last year, Delta and other carriers added surcharges for paying the baggage fees at the airport and also started charging a second checked bag fee on many international flights.