New United Airlines Baggage Policy

Other posts by MountainMama

So, it’s not just Southwest Airlines that is revamping its checked-luggage policy, now United Airlines is on the warpath. And actually, UAL makes SWA’s charging $25 for a third piece of checked baggage seem kinda tame. As of May 5, United will charge all passengers (who don’t hold “Premier” status with the Mileage Plus program) with a nonrefundable economy ticket $25 for each second piece of checked luggage.

With Denver as my United hub, my family flies UAL regularly, but we rarely check more than one suitcase apiece anyway. Usually my husband and I each have one checked bag, and I fit the kids’ clothes and gear in a third. But I feel for the families who have several children or lots of baby gear (checked car seats and strollers will not be charged additional fees, but your pack-n-play will). My mom is notorious for bringing treats for the kids when she visits, often arriving at our Colorado home (via United) with at least two checked bags. This new policy means she’ll need to dish out the fee, or ship kids’ gifts via UPS.

We always weigh our luggage to make sure we’re within the 50-lb weight restriction United Places on checked bags. No way do I want to pay the hefty fee for overweight bags, which is increasing to $100 per piece on all domestic flights as of May 5! So, you can be sure, I’ll continue to pack smart and light to avoid the $25 United will soon be charging for an additional checked bag per person.

The suits say United will make an additional $100 million a year on these new policies, helping the airline maintain its “competitive” rates. If that’s the case, so be it. But you can bet I’m not going to contribute to the kitty if I can help it.

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February 4, 2008 | Filed Under Flying High, Travel News 

Comments

8 Responses to “New United Airlines Baggage Policy”

  1. Rob says:
    February 5, 2008 at

    It will certainly hurt the CO ski resorts. The fee to check a pair of skis went beyond the $25.

    As someone from the Midwest who takes 3 to 5 ski trips per year out West (2 with the entire family), I will begin using other airlines (Delta to Salt Lake sounds great!).

  2. MountainMama says:
    February 5, 2008 at

    Such a good point on the checked skis — and golf clubs, since many of the CO resort areas are big golfing communities in the summer months…

  3. Kristen King says:
    February 5, 2008 at

    Holy moly! Thanks for the heads up.

    At any rate, just wanted to pop over and thank you for participating in the Inkthinker Query Challenge. I’m glad to have you on board as we head into the second month!

    Kristen
    http://www.inkthinkerblog.com

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  5. Your Questions Answered - Vacation Delivery of Baby Supplies « Traveling Mamas says:
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  6. Guam-Hotel.Net » Blog Archive » US Airways Stops Charging for Water, Coffee and Soda says:
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  7. Willow Campbell says:
    June 12, 2009 at

    What is the best way to weigh luggage before leaving home? I have been advised that bathroom scales are NOT the way to go!

    Also, exactly what do they mean by linear measurement. Linear means a straight line. But I am not sure I know what they mean.

  8. MountainMama says:
    June 14, 2009 at

    Willow – Linear means measuring (with a soft tape measure, ideally) the height, width and length of your bag.

    I always weigh my luggage by getting on a scale, noting my weight, then picking up my bag and weighing myself. If it’s more than 50 lbs. more than my weight, I unpack some things. Personally, I’ve not invested in any other sort of scale, but they are out there.

    I asked our resident airline expert DesertMama (a former flight attendant) to weigh in (no pun), so you may see a post about this soon.

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