Bag fees rise at Spirit Airlines on Jan. 1

Spirit Airlines, the carrier with 72 different passenger fees in eight categories, is raising its baggage fees in the new year.

The “good” news is that the increase is only $1 per bag and only for fees you pay online when you book your flight.

Spirit’s baggage fees vary in price depending on when you pay. For example, if you pay for one carry-on bag during online booking, you will pay $26, starting Jan. 1, 2014, compared with $25 in 2013.

Your first checked bag will cost you $21 and your second will rise to $31 in 2014.

You will face the biggest bag fees if you wait to pay when you arrive at the airport gate. Spirit will charge you $100 for each bag paid for at the gate, a fee that will not increase on Jan. 1.

Spirit was the first -- and is so far one of only two U.S. airlines -- to charge for carry-on bags.

Fees are a big deal to Florida-based Spirit Airlines, which generated 38.5% of its revenue from extra fees in 2012, the most of any carrier, according to a study by IdeaWorks Co., a Wisconsin consultant on airline fees.

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