United raised the fee for its second checked bag from $25 to $50 today. Their war on customers continues apace.

As I’ve argued before, having the first checked bag free and the second $50, as Delta does, makes sense to me. It acknowledges the plight of the traveler who occasionally has to check a bag, but it’s only punitive if you’re a heavy packer. This new policy, is just plain gouge-tastic.

And, insulting passenger intelligence as well as wallets, the company blames the price of fuel. Oil, notably, has dropped from nearly $150 to below $100 per barrel. (Granted, refined oil products saw prices skyrocketing these past days after Hurricane Ike shut down Gulf of Mexico area refiners, but this was widely reported as a temporary blip.) Volatility alone is not sufficient reason to charge more, especially when the base commodity’s price is in decline.

From the release:

In a challenging economic environment where fuel prices continue to be volatile and are more than 50 percent higher than last year, United is increasing the service fee to check a second bag on a domestic flight from $25 to $50 one way. These changes apply to customers who purchase a ticket on or after Sept. 16, 2008, for travel within the U.S. and to/from Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after Nov. 10, 2008.

The service fee does not apply to customers who are flying in United First or United Business, have Premier status with United or Star Alliance, or active duty military personnel traveling on orders. United estimates that the $50 service fee will apply to one out of seven customers.

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