UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, aiming to increase earnings after exiting bankruptcy last year, may charge passengers to check more than one bag or get their luggage off a plane first under a new revenue strategy.
United, the world’s second-largest carrier, may also start selling valet service for suitcases, among other ideas under consideration, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said late last week.
The concepts are part of a five-year plan Chicago-based UAL’s board approved last month. Chief executive Glenn Tilton said Oct. 5 that UAL also may sell non-airline units or merge with another carrier as it spends about $4 billion in the next five years to “drive revenue and efficiency improvements.”
Discount carriers including Europe’s largest, Ryanair Holdings Plc, have increased earnings through non-ticket revenue by charging for services such as checked bags. JetBlue Airways Corp. plans to collect fees for onboard headsets, blankets and pillows to generate more revenue, and Southwest Airlines Co. is studying ways to boost sales from sources other than fares.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has said he expects the Dublin- based airline to eventually give away tickets and be profitable through revenue from such services.
Traditional network carriers in the U.S. stopped offering some services or started charging for others, such as in-flight meals, to stem losses over the past six years. Several large U.S. airlines, including United, filed for bankruptcy after passenger demand slumped following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq and an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome linked to air travel.
