HONOLULU — Baggage fees are a big bonus for Hawaiian Airlines: the company earned more from the fees in 2014 than it did in overall earnings. ADVERTISING HONOLULU — Baggage fees are a big bonus for Hawaiian Airlines: the company
HONOLULU — Baggage fees are a big bonus for Hawaiian Airlines: the company earned more from the fees in 2014 than it did in overall earnings.
The carrier made a company record of more than $76 million from checked, overweight and oversized bags last year, exceeding its net income of $68.9 million, reports the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
American Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to charge for checked bags in 2008 to compensate for the escalating price of oil.
Jet fuel prices have dropped dramatically since then, but airlines still rely on revenue from baggage fees.
“Baggage fees are now part of the income,” said Colorado-based airline consultant Mike Boyd on Monday following the release of U.S. Department of Transportation data.
“Clearly, Hawaiian knows how to manage their business,” he said.
Hawaiian’s fuel expenses dropped between 2013 and 2014 and were down another 34.9 percent during the first quarter of this year.
The airline also earns money when people cancel or change their flight reservations. Hawaiian racked up $20.1 million from fees on those transactions in 2014.
The carrier also collects revenue from products like Extra Comfort seats and its co-branded credit card. Hawaiian announced last month that first-quarter sales of such products averaged $21.32 per passenger, and increase of 28 percent from the same period last year.
