Travelling overseas might become a bit costlier for some Canadian travellers after Delta Air Lines announced it will begin to charge for checked bags on flights to Europe and North Africa.
The airline said that it will charge US$60 or C$75 for the first bag and more for second bags for the basic economy passengers. The charge will be applicable on those tickets purchased after December 6th and for flights after April 10 originating from the U.S. and Canada.
Delta is currently expanding its Basic Economy flights for overseas travellers and there will be no alteration in the policy for the expensive international flight tickets.
Similar to the other carriers, Delta presently does not charge anything for the checked bags for international flights and charges US$25 for the first checked bag on domestic and transborder flights.
A report this week said global ancillary fees are expected to generate US$82.2 billion this year, a 22 per cent increase in one year, compared to US$22.6 billion in 2010.
Air Canada was ranked tenth in the world in collecting ancillary fees, bringing in US$1.179 billion in 2016, according to IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. research company that tracks airline revenue. WestJet collected US$302.2 million or US$13.77 per passenger in fees last year. The airline is expanding its international reach by adding new Boeing 737 Max planes and 787 Dreamlines in 2019.
WestJet and Delta said their preliminary agreement anticipates co-ordinated schedules for new destinations and expanded codesharing, which allows each partner to book seats on the other’s flights.
