JetBlue may start charging for 1st checked bag

Frankly, it looks like a safe bet to me. Right now, Southwest and JetBlue are the only two big airlines that don't charge most passengers for a first checked bag -- JetBlue last year initiated a $20 fee for a second.
I spoke to JetBlue's CEO Dave Barger yesterday, and he told me that no decision had been made and that he was wary of being perceived as "nickel-and-diming'' customers on fees. However, he could see possibly levying a charge, but one that would come with an enhanced guarantee that, say, your bag would be available a defined number of minutes after you land.
And, he said, if JetBlue were going to go ahead with such a plan it would coincide nicely with the carrier's switchover from their Openskies passenger reservation service to the Sabre system, which is capable of handling more complex transactions -- read charges.
JetBlue spokesman Sebastian White said the airline expected to make the change in its reservation system in early 2010.
Airline Business magazine has quoted JetBlue as saying that if it started charging for a first bag that it would be worth $10 million in additional revenue.
But let's face it. If JetBlue does decide to start levying the charge, it would not be the first. All of its competitors are looking for more ways to raise income by unbundling charges, and all are reporting increased income from such "ancillaries'' (fees for more leg-room, talking to a real human, drinks, blankets and pillows, headphones, etc etc).
That is, after all, why the list of first-bag-fee adherents has grown. Yesterday Alaska Air said it would start charging $15 for a first checked bag, and Virgin America said last month that it too would jump on the bandwagon starting in May. (In fact, US Airways just announced that it would start hitting passengers who do not check in online 24 hours in advance with an additional $5 fee for each bag checked at the airport; this is on top of the $15 you pony up for a first bag and $25 for a second.)
Anyway, I will be surprised if we don't see an announcement early next year from JetBlue.
That will leave only Southwest, which allows passengers two free bags, and as recently as earlier this month company CEO Gary Kelly said that he remained steadfast in holding the line.