Checking sports equipment on Alaska Airlines just got cheaper – Los Angeles Times

In the last year alone, the nation’s biggest airlines have collected more than $4 billion in fees to check bags and other personal items.

So, it may come as a surprise that one airline is giving up at least some of that revenue.

Alaska Airlines has cut its fees for checking most sports equipment, such as bicycles and golf clubs, to $25 from $75. To qualify for the discount, the equipment has to count toward the first two checked bags for each passenger.

The lower fee applies on the Seattle-based carrier, its subsidiary, Horizon Air, and flights operated by its partner regional carrier SkyWest Airlines. The lower price eventually will apply at Virgin America, the carrier that Alaska Airlines acquired last year.