Checked bag fees for Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have each jumped by $10, a result of surging jet fuel prices, writes Mike Albanese for Philadelphia Business Journal.
Americans’ jet fuel prices surged to $2.75 per gallon from $2.42 per gallon in the fourth quarter of 2025 due to the conflict in Iran.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in March that the war in Iran caused a first-quarter loss to the airline.
The fuel cost rise is offsetting rising demand for airline seats with “record year-over-year quarterly revenue growth.”
“But for the run-up in fuel, we would have produced a profitable first quarter,” Isom said at the March 17 JPMorgan Industrial Conference in Washington, D.C.
American Airlines is the largest commercial airline at Philadelphia International Airport.
The $10 jump for American puts the first bag fee at $45 and the second bag at $55.
The airline is also charging $200 for a third checked bag, a $50 increase.
Southwest, PHL’s fourth-largest carrier, has also set its first bag checked at $45 and $55 for the second.
Southwest Airlines attributed the increase to “the evolving global backdrop,” according to a statement.
Read more about Americans’ future fuel price impacts and how the airline is responding in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
