Planning a trip to Europe this holiday season? Enjoy checking your baggage for free, an airline amenity that may well disappear for the thriftiest of fliers next year.
Delta Air Lines has introduced a new checked bag policy, which includes the unfortunate-but not necessarily unexpected-news that passengers purchasing a basic economy fare to Europe and North Africa will soon be expected to fork over $60 for their first checked bag. For travelers planning an extended stay in those destinations, the second bag will cost a whopping $100 to check, each way.
Which means a two-bag traveler is looking at a surcharge of more than $300, round trip if they purchase Delta's most "economic" fare on those routes.
The fees were introduced on December 6, for anyone purchasing a flight departing on April 10, 2018, or thereafter.
And, reports Forbes.com, don't even think about a sneaky end-run by using codeshare loopholes, as Air France-KLM and Alitalia have announced they will follow suit by charging the same fees.
According to Forbes, Delta's basic economy class, in which travelers must also forgo advance seat selection, early boarding and the possibility of upgrades, has always been a product that was designed to encourage passengers to upgrade to the higher seat category.
"The success of [Basic Economy] in our minds is not how many people buy it, but how many people don't buy it and choose another product," said Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta Air Lines, during an earnings call in October.
A $320 roundtrip surcharge should certainly help convince passengers to take a second look at the next-higher fare class.
There's been no word on whether United and American will follow suit, but at this point, it seems unlikely that they will be left behind, especially as average airfares are at their lowest rates since 1995, and projected to continue dropping.
Thanks to a Department of Transportation order earlier this week, withdrawing a requirement that airlines provide more information on ancillary fees during the booking process, travelers to Europe may need to dig a little deeper to learn about these hefty new baggage fees that await them.
Meanwhile, Delta continues its march towards world domination with announcements that it is entering a comprehensive trans-border joint venture with Canada's WestJet, and that it is setting its sights on a significantly expanded China presence in an expansion of its existing partnership with China Eastern.
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