Ranking: The Airlines Cashing In Most on Baggage Fees

by Nate Wooley | September 26, 2012 8:43 am

Major airlines had a good second quarter in 2012. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics,[1] the largest air carriers reported a 6% profit margin in Q2, up from 5.3% in the same quarter in 2011.

But where the real action came is in baggage fees. Overall, the industry set a record in the first half of this year with more than $1.7 billion in such fees.

The top fee earner is Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL[2]) which brought in over $420 million dollars in the first six months of the year. They were followed by United Continental (NYSE:UAL[3]) with $350 million.

Here’s a list of the top 10 fee earners for the first six months of 2012:

  1. Delta: $429 million
  2. United: $351 million
  3. American (PINK:AAMRQ[4]): $288 million
  4. US Airways (NYSE:LLC[5]): $260 million
  5. Spirit Air (NASDAQ:SAVE[6]): $82 million
  6. Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK[7]): $71 million
  7. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV[8]): $58 million
  8. Allegiant Air (NASDAQ:ALGT[9]): $36 million
  9. Frontier Air (NASDAQ:RJET[10]): $35 million
  10. JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU[11]): 34 million

The full list can be viewed here.[12]

Other interesting airline stories from InvestorPlace:

Endnotes:
  1. Bureau of Transportation Statistics,: http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2012/bts044_12/html/bts044_12.html
  2. DAL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=DAL
  3. UAL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=UAL
  4. AAMRQ: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AAMRQ
  5. LLC: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=LLC
  6. SAVE: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SAVE
  7. ALK: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=ALK
  8. LUV: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=LUV
  9. ALGT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=ALGT
  10. RJET: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RJET
  11. JBLU: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=JBLU
  12. The full list can be viewed here.: http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/baggage_fees/
  13. The Best and Worst U.S. Airlines in July: http://investorplace.com/2012/09/the-best-and-worst-u-s-airlines-in-july/

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