Alaska Airlines adjusts fees, rules for ticket payment

The new baggage fees apply to travel starting June 16 for tickets bought beginning May 1.

Each of the first three checked bags will cost $20 under the new fee schedule, Alaska Air said. That will be a $5 increase for the first bag, a $5 decrease for the second and a $30 decrease for the third, the Seattle-based airline said.

The change simplifies and streamlines the fees, the airline said.

The fee also is falling for extra bags beyond the third. The fourth through 10th bags will cost $50 each, down from the current fee of $100, Alaska Air said.

The bag fee changes also apply to Horizon Air, Alaska Air's sister airline that handles shorter-hop flights in the Lower 48.

Passengers traveling solely within Alaska and military personnel on active duty pay no fees on the first three bags, the airline said.

The bag fees also don't apply to the first two bags of first-class and MVP passengers, and passengers to or from Mexico City and Guadalajara.

Separately, as of May 12 the two airlines are ending the policy of letting passengers hold reservations for 24 hours before paying. The airlines will give passengers one free change or a full refund within 24 hours of buying the ticket, Alaska Air said.

Alaska and Horizon said they are lowering the fees for passengers ages 5 to 12 traveling without an adult. The new fees are $25 for direct flights and $50 for connecting flights in the airlines' network. The current fee is $75, Alaska Air said.

Alaska Air started charged charging for a second piece of luggage in July 2008 and added a fee for the first piece last July.

The airline's luggage fees have been comparable to those of other airlines, although some, such as Southwest Airlines, charge no fees on the first or second piece of baggage.

Alaska Air also said Thursday that starting June 16 it will pay passengers if their luggage is not at baggage claim 20 minutes after their flight parks at the gate. If their baggage is late, customers will receive 2,000 frequent-flier miles or $20 off a future flight, Alaska Air said. Previously, the compensation was 2,500 miles or $25 off a future flight if the baggage didn't arrive within 25 minutes.

Alaska Air announced the change in baggage fees on the same day its parent company, Alaska Air Group Inc., announced its first-quarter financial results.

The company posted a $5.3 million profit on $830 million in revenue during the first three months of this year. That compares with a $19.2 million loss on $742 million in revenue during last year's first quarter.

The profit contrasts with the results from several of Alaska Air Group's larger rivals, such as Continental and American, which posted losses.

But the company is paying more for fuel than a year ago. Aircraft fuel costs totaled $207 million in the first quarter, compared with $158 million a year earlier, the company said.