Air France-KLM New Baggage Fee

The Air France/KLM new baggage fee policy for customers traveling in Economy Class between the US and Europe including Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia portends across-the-board changes all flight from the U.S. to foreign countries.

In effect, passengers traveling to/from the U.S. may now check only one bag up to 50 pounds for free. A second bag costs $50 for flights departing from the U.S. and 50 Euros for flights departing from Europe. Bag weighing more than 50 pounds incur additional fees.

Who cares? I do. This is likely the beginning of a trend for all U.S. to foreign destinations flights. Just as the domestic carriers all jumped onto the pile once of them invoked a bag fee, so too will the international carriers. And, if you’re toting skis, a snowboard, golf clubs or fishing gear, this fee could affect you dearly—particularly the pricing.

Fifty bucks out and, effectively 70-plus bucks back, adds a chunk of change to your ticket. Last time I looked at New York-Paris tickets, they were floating at about $680 plus taxes. Toss another $120 on top of that, and things are getting pretty expensive.