Free first-checked bags on major U.S. airlines edged one
step closer to extinction on Tuesday as JetBlue implemented its three-tiered
fare program that includes a first-checked-bag fee at the lowest level, as well
as a fee scale for cancellations and changes.
The cheapest fare level, Blue, offers no free checked bags.
The middle tier, Blue Plus, offers one free bag, and Blue Flex, the highest
tier, offers two. For several international destinations—including Santiago,
Bogotá,
Lima, Mexico City and Medellín, Colombia—Blue and Blue Plus fares include one checked
bag.
For Blue fares on the rest of the network, JetBlue now charges
$20 for the first checked bag during Web and kiosk check-ins and $25 for
counter check-ins. For Blue and Blue Plus fares, the second checked bag costs
$35.
Checked bag fees will gain JetBlue about $65 million in
revenue this year and more than $100 million in each of the years following,
according to a Cowen and Co. research note issued Tuesday. Southwest Airlines
is the only major U.S. carrier that does not charge some sort of fee for a
first checked bag, and chief marketing officer Kevin Krone said in October
the airline has no plans to do so.
Other differences among fare tiers include the fee for
changes and cancellations, which are based on the fare. Blue Plus fees are $10
to $15 less than Blue fees, and JetBlue waives change fees for Blue Flex fares.
It charges $50 for same-day changes at Blue and Blue Plus and waives them at
the Blue Flex level. Travelers also earn a progressively higher online booking
bonus for the TrueBlue program at each level.
Amenities like free snacks, DirecTV and broadband Internet
service remain available at all levels.
TrueBlue Mosaic members, meanwhile, are allowed two free
checked bags and no change or cancellation fees regardless of the fare
purchased. JetBlue’s premium Mint fare, when available, also includes two free
checked bags.
A search of flights from New York to Los Angeles for late July
showed a price differential of $15 between Blue and Blue Plus fares and about
$100 between Blue and Blue Flex.