JetBlue adds fee for checked bags

NEW YORK – The era of free checked suitcases on JetBlue has come to an end.

The airline proudly proclaimed itself a holdout on fees for years, allowing passengers to check one bag for free. Now it will charge up to $25 for checked luggage.

The move leaves Southwest Airlines as the only major U.S. carrier not to charge a bag fee.

JetBlue Airways had announced the change in November but didn’t detail how it would be implemented until Tuesday. The fee only applies to new bookings; existing reservations still get one free bag.

Passengers will pay less if they plan ahead. Those with the cheapest tickets will pay $20 each way if they check in online or at a kiosk. The fee jumps to $25 if they go to the counter. A new fare class that costs about $15 extra each way would include one free bag.

Fees for a second checked bag and reservation changes are being lowered.

The airline plans to reinvest the millions of dollars it will collect from bag fees into new seats and TVs, according to Marty St. George, JetBlue’s executive vice president of commercial products and planning.

“Some of these changes are going to help pay for what’s the biggest product upgrade JetBlue has had in the history of the company,” he told the Associated Press in advance of the announcement.