Alaska Airlines joined all other large U.S. business travel air carriers in raising checked-bag fees for North American travel, the carrier announced late Thursday.
Fellow Alaska Air Group carrier Hawaiian Airlines also raised checked-bag fees, the company announced.
For travel booked on or after April 10, each carriers raised first and second checked-bag fees by $5 for North American travel, to $45 and $55, respectively. The fee for a third checked bag increased $50 to $200.
Alaska and Hawaiian also eliminated the $5 discount for prepaying checked-bag fees at least four hours ahead of departure on online or mobile platforms.
Alaska in a statement attributed the fee hikes to "ongoing volatility in fuel prices and an uncertain global environment."
There is no change for status-level members of Alaska's Atmos loyalty program, who will maintain the same checked-bag benefits, as will eligible cardholders of an Atmos Rewards Visa or Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard. There also are no changes to Hawaiian Airlines' Huaka'i benefits for intra-Hawaii travel, according to the company.
JetBlue the week of March 30 kicked off this round of fee increases, and was followed by United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines.