Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United, which was the only US airline to be using the Russian airspace to operate flights into India, changed its routing and stopped flying over Russia. As a consequence, two of the four United flights to India (EWR-BOM and SFO-DEL), were temporarily suspended and the other two (ORD-DEL and EWR-DEL) continue to be operated albeit with a longer routing.

United raises checked bag prices on flights to India

After flying the longer routes over to India for almost a month, and with no respite in sight, United has hiked its checked baggage charges for the India flights, given the new reality of expensive fuel and longer flights (but perhaps not talking about the effect on the economics of the flight due to them stopping the use of expensive Russian airspace overflights).

United has notified its booking partners that for tickets issued after April 5, 2022, for now, the checked bag prices will be raised, albeit temporarily. The new prices are applicable on both, the ORD-DEL and EWR-DEL flights, and any flights that connect to these as well.

While Premier, Premium Cabin and Star Alliance Gold customers will continue to have their existing free checked baggage allowance on these flights, any bags beyond their free baggage allowance will be subject to the new pricing.

• Pricing for second checked baggage raised by USD 100 to USD 200
• Pricing for third and onwards checked baggage raised by USD 200 to USD 300

Here is United’s trade circular for reference.

While not listed to be applicable on the flights from India to the US, the baggage cost calculator shows the new pricing for India – USA extra bags as well. We’ve reached out to United for clarification on applicable sectors.

Bottomline

If you are flying with United from Newark/Chicago to Delhi, your checked bags might cost more now depending on when you booked your flights. If you don’t have status with United or any other Star Alliance member airline, do plan to pay more for your extra bags, and pack accordingly.

What do you think of United’s new move to increase checked bag charges?

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