Not coincidentally, American was the first major carrier to start charging for a checked bag, back in 2008, when airlines were trying to come up with new revenue sources to counter high jet fuel prices and other effects of the Great Recession. And once a fee is assessed, it is almost never rescinded.

Checked baggage fees as we know them today primarily originated in May 2008, when American Airlines became the first major U.S. carrier to charge for the "first" checked bag ($15 at the time). This was a desperate response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and skyrocketing jet fuel prices, which had reached nearly $140 per barrel. Before this, baggage was traditionally included in the "bundled" price of a ticket. Airlines realized that by "unbundling" services, they could keep their base fares looking low on search engines while recouping costs through fees. This proved to be a massive "gold mine" for the industry; in 2026, airlines collectively earn billions of dollars annually from baggage alone. Additionally, because "ancillary fees" (like bags) are not subject to the same 7.5% federal excise tax as base airfare in the U.S., it is more tax-efficient for airlines to charge you $35 for a bag than to simply raise the ticket price by $35, which further incentivizes the persistence of these fees.