United Airlines said on Thursday it will charge a US$15 service fee to check one bag for domestic travel on an economy ticket to help offset record fuel prices.
The new fee will also be charged on economy travel to Canada, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the US airline said.
In addition, the Chicago-based carrier — the second-largest US airline — said it will hike the fee to check three or more bags, overweight bags or items that require special handling to US$125 from US$100, or to US$250 from US$200, depending on the item.
The new fees, effective for flights from Aug. 18, apply to customers who purchased their ticket yesterday or later.
The airline previously announced a fee of US$25 for checking a second bag.
United estimates the potential revenue from baggage handling service fees, including those for checking a first and second bag, will be about US$275 million a year.
It announced exceptions to the new first-bag checking fee for some passengers such as first or business class.
Like other US airlines reeling from jet fuel prices that have nearly doubled in the past year and a soft US economy, United announced in early June it was further cutting its fleet, operations and up to 1,100 additional jobs. It also closed its budget carrier Ted.
Meanwhile, Australian airline Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd said yesterday it would raise fares and cut costs and capacity to offset higher fuel prices.
Faced with fuel bills expected to be up 21 percent to more than A$500 million (US$470 million) in the year to June 30, the group said it plans to cut costs by A$50 million in the 2009 financial year.
It will also increase ticket prices by an average of US$4.70 across 55 percent of its routes in Australia, and freeze management salaries.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’