One of the ways airlines have found to raise revenue, while remaining competitive in the electronic marketplace for airline fares, is to charge separately for some services that were traditionally covered in the ticket price, such as meals, seat selection, and baggage handling. While U.S. airline revenue from baggage fees went up at a rate of 17.23% per year from 2007 through 2012 overall operating income rose over the same period at a rate of 2.14% annually.

Today’s market size is the total amount charged by all U.S. commercial airlines, annually, for fees associated with the handling of baggage.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2007 and 2012
Market size: $464 million and $3.486 billion respectively
Source: Martha C. White, “Airlines Cash In on Every Inch, Even the Jammed Bins Overhead,” The New York Times, October 11, 2013, page 1, available online here.
Original source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Posted on October 14, 2013