A new study by Jan Brueckner, an economics professor at UC Irvine, and other economics experts, which is set to be published in the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy later this year, has identified that US carriers have quietly lowered airfares slightly to ensure passengers are more acceptable to paying for checking in bags. However, the study highlights, that the fare cut was not large enough to offset completely the cost of a checked bag.
In 2008, when US airlines started to charge for checked in luggage, bag fees were around $15 a bag but this has grown to $25 each. Airlines are profiting by the change and statistics show that during the first nine months of 2013, the nation's airlines collected $2.5 billion in bag fees.