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American Airlines Raises Fees For Checked Bags

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Jul 24, 2009 1:08 pm US/Mountain

American Airlines Raises Fees For Checked Bags

CBS News Interactive: Industry Turbulence

FORT WORTH (CBS) ―

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CBS News Interactive: Industry Turbulence

In April of 2008 American Airlines announced it would begin charging passengers $25 for checking a second bag, but the first bag checked was free. In June of that same year the air carrier began charging $15, each way, for the first bag checked. Now American has announced that starting August 14, 2009 both charges will increase.

For tickets purchased on or after August 14, American will charge $20 for the first bag checked and $30 for the second checked bag. The charges are for each way, meaning a traveler with a round-trip ticket will pay fees twice.

According to an American Airlines press release, "The changes apply for travel within the United States and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The changes also apply to travelers on American's regional affiliate, American Eagle, as well as AmericanConnection flights."

The fees will be charged for customers checking bags at self-service machines, curbside, or at the ticket counter.

There are a few exceptions when travelers don't have to pay the checked bag charge. Most exemptions apply to top-tier travelers and those purchasing full-fare economy class tickets.

United, Delta, Continental and US Airways also recently announced $5 increases in checked-bag fees, to $20 for the first and $30 for the second.

On July 15, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. announced a $390 million loss in the second quarter. In the same quarter last year, AMR lost $1.46 billion, or $5.83 per share, mostly for writing down the value of its fleet. Without the charges, the year-ago loss was $298 million.

Traffic on American dropped 8.2 percent in the second quarter. American said it expects capacity in the third quarter to be 8.5 percent lower than last summer, with a 10.5 percent reduction in the U.S.