From PBS NewsHour.

Your summer vacation may have just gotten more expensive, again. Nearly every major U.S. airline has raised the price of checking a bag in recent weeks, as spiking jet fuel prices send their costs soaring.

Most airlines raised the price by about $10 for the first and second bag, while American and Delta added $50 to the cost of a third bag, too. For the week ending April 10th, jet fuel prices were up 119.7% compared to last year’s average, a serious increase in an industry that operates on tight margins.

PBS News’ Tim McPhillips spoke with Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business to break down why airlines turn to bag fees when they want to offset rising costs, and why those fees never seem to go back down.

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