My friend Chris passed along the following memo regarding a change in United’s checked baggage policy:
Complimentary Checked Baggage Allowance Change in Premium Cabin
United is modifying its premium cabin complimentary checked baggage allowance for tickets purchased on or after February 14, 2013 for travel beginning February 14, 2013 and beyond.
- United Global First and United First baggage allowance changes from three bags to two bags for domestic travel.
- United BusinessFirst and United Business baggage allowance changes from three bags to two bags for domestic and international travel.
Other United baggage service charges including MileagePlus® Premier entitlements and weight allowances are not impacted. Premier Gold level and above will continue to receive three complimentary bags in these cabins.
This change better aligns United’s checked baggage allowance tiers with those of partner carriers and competitors, and helps balance the cost of this valuable service with the complex infrastructure required to support it.
Prior to this change all domestic and international first and business class passengers were entitled to three checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds each. Now domestic first and business class passengers as well as international business class passengers will only be entitled to two checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds each.
As a point of comparison Delta allows domestic first and business class passengers three checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds each, while they allow international business class passengers (with the exception of those traveling to Brazil) two checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds each. Meanwhile American allows all first and business class passengers (both international and domestic) three checked bags weighing up to 50 pounds each.
So it’s sad to see United make this change since they went from having the most generous premium cabin checked bag policy among US airlines to arguably the least generous, or at least less generous than Delta and possibly less generous than American (depending on whether you value the three piece limit or 70 pound limit more).
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