Checked Bag Fees by Airline, Dated to August 9, 2026

• 45 and 55

  First and second checked-bag fee on Delta and Southwest, and on Alaska or Hawaiian for the first two bags, per traveler per direction

• 49 and 69

  First and second bag on JetBlue for non-Mint fares bought on or after March 27, 2026

• 200

  Fee for the third and later checked bag on Alaska and Hawaiian for bookings on or after April 10, 2026

• 45 and 55

  American Main Cabin first and second bags when paid online in the representative market; airport rates are higher

Checked-bag fees changed across the U.S. industry in spring 2026, so any dated comparison on the internet can quietly go stale. This page is a representative snapshot as of August 9, 2026, not an exhaustive universal tariff. It covers the standard first and second domestic checked bags on American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska or Hawaiian, and explains that United publishes no flat number. Every amount is per traveler, per direction, for a standard-weight bag on the representative route and fare stated. Because fees depend on the booking date, route, cabin, status, card and size and weight, the airline’s official policy or calculator is the best starting point for your specific ticket, followed by the amount shown during booking.

How to read these dated fees

Before the numbers, read the caveats so the table does not mislead you. The fees on this page are for the first and second standard-weight checked bags on a representative domestic U.S. route and fare, with the specific ticket conditions the airline published. They are not oversize or overweight fees, which airlines price per route and dimension and which are far larger. They assume no complimentary bag from your loyalty status, card or fare class, unless that benefit is what the airline uses to set the standard case.

This is a deliberately narrow definition of a checked bag. The word “bag” is doing a lot of work, and it changes the number at every step. Airlines treat size and weight limits, oversize and overweight surcharges, and the specific route and cabin as separate inputs, so the fee you see depends on the trip you are actually taking, not on a single national price list. For a family booking multiple travelers on several legs, each of those variables is multiplied rather than added, which is why the exact figure on your booking screen is the only one that truly counts.

Crucially, each figure is per traveler, per direction. A round trip is two charges per bag per person, so the family math multiplies quickly. And because fees turn on the date you book or ticket, the route, the cabin and whether you prepay, two people can fly the same route on different days and pay different amounts.

The August 9, 2026 comparison table

The table is intentionally compact and dated. Its unique angle is a dated 2026 airline-by-airline comparison of the standard domestic first and second bag, rather than a broader baggage-fee explainer. Where any airline has several route or fare cases, this table shows the representative one and points you to verify the rest.

American: Main Cabin and Basic Economy

American’s official checked-baggage policy, current after the 2026 changes, sets Main Cabin travel within and between the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, plus listed nearby markets, at a first bag of 50 US dollars at the airport or 45 online and a second bag of 60 at the airport or 55 online. These are per person and per direction.

Basic Economy is different. For tickets on or after May 18, 2026, the first bag is 55 at the airport or 50 online and the second is 65 at the airport or 60 online. Because American seats basic economy passengers last and charges more for their bags, the basic economy versus main cabin math often decides whether the cheaper fare is really cheaper at all.

Notice the online discount built into every American figure. Paying for a checked bag online before you arrive at the airport is consistently cheaper than doing it at the counter, and the difference is explicit in American’s own policy. For a standard family trip the online savings is small per bag, but it is a fixed, known reduction you can secure in advance, which is exactly the kind of certain saving this page exists to point out amid all the variables.

Delta's two-page picture and card benefits

Delta’s current baggage overview, after the April 8, 2026 change, sets a first domestic checked bag at 45 US dollars and a second at 55 on domestic and Canada tickets. Its prior-fees page records the fee that changed and helps a reader confirm the effective date of the new rate, which is exactly the kind of dated evidence a fee comparison needs.

Southwest: the fare makes the fee

Southwest’s official travel-fees table prices its bags by fare and booking change date. For U.S. mainland travel booked, ticketed or changed on or after April 9, 2026, the representative case is a first bag of 45 US dollars and a second of 55 for Basic, Choice and Choice Preferred. Choice Extra includes the first two bags, and other route, status and card cases vary, so read the exact fare you bought and compare it against the cheap-flight system before you assume the lowest fare is the best total.

JetBlue: 49 and 69 outside Mint

JetBlue’s contract of carriage, dated April 17, 2026, sets a first standard checked bag at 49 US dollars and a second at 69 for all fares except Mint purchased on or after March 27, 2026. Transatlantic, peak-date and other cases carry different amounts. JetBlue’s transatlantic routes are the clearest place where this representative number does not apply, so check before you fly them.

The JetBlue figures highlight how much route and peak season can shift a fee. A transatlantic crossing is priced differently from a short domestic segment, and peak travel dates can carry different bag terms, so a traveler comparing JetBlue to another carrier on a transatlantic route should read the contract for that specific itinerary rather than applying the 49 and 69 domestic figures. The point generalizes to every airline on this page and is the reason each row ends by telling you to verify your own route.

Alaska and Hawaiian, plus the third bag

Alaska’s official update on its Hawaiian integration sets bookings on or after April 10, 2026 at a first checked bag of 45 US dollars, a second of 55, and 200 for the third and later. State-of-Hawaii routings and benefit exceptions apply. That steep jump at the third bag is a reminder to count every bag in your party before you choose a fare.

The leap from 55 for a second bag to 200 for the third is the single most striking number on this page and a good illustration of why “the fee for a checked bag” is not one number. A family that thinks in terms of one or two free or cheap bags each can hit a much higher figure the moment a third bag appears, whether that is a piece of sporting equipment, an extra suitcase or a return trip with purchases. The cure is to decide in advance how many bags each traveler is carrying and price the fare against that, not against an assumed default.

United: a calculator, not a flat fee

United is the outlier on this page and is listed deliberately. It does not publish a flat checked-bag fee; it asks travelers to enter a route, dates, cabin and status into a checked-bag-fee calculator that returns the exact number for their itinerary. We do not print a flat United fee, because to do so would misrepresent a carrier that prices by your specifics.

United’s calculator is actually the most honest way an airline can present a fee that truly varies by route and fare. Routing through the calculator forces you to give it your origin, destination, travel dates, cabin and elite status before it returns a number, which removes exactly the guesswork a flat table would introduce elsewhere on this page. If you are considering United, taking sixty seconds to run the calculator is the same verification this guide asks of every other row, and it returns a figure tied to your own itinerary rather than to a representative case.

Family round-trip math and the exceptions

The family math is where dated fees bite hardest. A round trip with one checked bag per person for a family of four on American Main Cabin at the online rate is roughly 360 US dollars — that is four travelers times two directions times 45. Pay at the airport, fly basic economy, or add a second bag each, and the total climbs materially. Walk the same sum for two bags a person on a long trip and bag fees become a material share of the trip budget rather than a minor line item.

Before you spend, run the levers this page raises. Prepay online where it saves money, check whether a credit card or loyalty status waives the first bag, and confirm the cabin and fare you book, because basic economy prices its bags higher on American. Measure and weigh every bag against the airline’s oversize and overweight thresholds, which sit far above these standard fees, and compare the all-in fare-plus-bag cost, not the base fare, when you choose between carriers. The family seating guide covers the seats; this page covers the bags, and together they are the true cost of a family trip.

Two traps deserve a warning each, without inventing amounts. Oversize and overweight surcharges are set per route and dimension and can be higher than a standard bag fee, and they are not shown in the first and second bag figures anywhere on this table. The airport penalty for a bag that exceeds a carrier’s published threshold can erase whatever you saved by choosing a cheaper fare. The only defense is to weigh and measure the bag at home, against the carrier’s stated limits, before you fly, and to read the airline’s baggage page for the exact oversize and overweight numbers for your route rather than guessing from a standard fee.

Methodology, as-of date, and limits

Every figure on this page is stated as of August 9, 2026 and traces to the airline’s official baggage page or contract, listed in the sources: American’s checked-baggage policy, Delta’s overview and prior-fees pages, Southwest’s travel-fees table, JetBlue’s April 17, 2026 contract of carriage, Alaska’s official update, and United’s fee calculator. No Spirit fee is listed because Spirit is not a current booking recommendation here, and no Frontier fee is invented. This is a representative comparison, not a real-time tariff, and airline baggage policies change, so verify the exact fee on the carrier’s page for your route and ticket before you purchase.