Legacy vs LCC
 

I've got a big holiday planned in the US for the summer across a number of cities but I'm a total noob to flying domestic in the US..

In my homebase and elsewhere I tend to prefer legacy carriers- the perception that they're more reliable, all-in fares etc.. I looked up Delta/American/United domestic across my city pairs and I notice that I can't pre-pay for check baggage on domestic coach.

Have the US legacy carriers adopted a low-cost model or am I missing something here?

Are they also more reliable?

Thanks in advance

For some time now, it's been common practice for domestic carriers not to include any free checked bags on domestic Coach flights (and even on some international Coach flights). Exceptions are made for those who hold the particular airline's credit card, and for those those with elite status with the airline itself, or with one of the airline's global alliance partners.

Until May 28, U.S. carrier Southwest offers two free checked bags on any fare.

Whether you can pay for a checked bag online or can only do so at the airport is up to each airline.

In making your decision, be sure to check the frequency of service for any city pair you are considering. In the U.S., carriers are not required to rebook you on another carrier in the event of flight cancellation or delay.

The different fare classes show what type of carry-on and checked luggage is allowed. I believe you can pre-pay for a checked bag but it might be at check-out or added after buying the ticket. Somewhere on the airlines website it will show the cost to check a bag. I'm not sure if it's any cheaper to pre-check as opposed to paying at the airport, it might depend on the airline. It's difficult to give advice over some many carriers. An airline that you may not be aware of is Southwest Airline. It is a major carrier buy won't show up in an Expedia type search.

I would say that legacy are more reliable simply because you have more choices should your flight not go.

Thanks, both. You've answered my questions :)

I know that on most of the legacies websites you click on the cabin you want. Then it will usually open all the various options for that cabin. On American if you pick Main it will open choices for Basic Economy, Main, Main Plus, Main Select. There is an explanation of what each includes. I pretty sure they all use some variation of booking.

This is really the differentiating factor for me and why I won't fly LCC's in the US. If a flight get canceled or delayed and you miss a connection, with LCC's you may not have another option for a long time or even days.

To more specifically answer OP’s question:



Delta - you can pay for checked bags anytime during the check-in window (T-24) either online/app or at airport kiosk; no price difference in paying online vs at airport



United - $5 less if checked bags are paid for before T-24; bag payment is an option once trip is ticketed. No price difference between online/at airport within T-24 window



American - $5 less for first (not second) checked bag if paid for online or on app (not at airport), payment only available during check in window (T-24)



Alaska - same as Delta



JetBlue - $10 less per bag if paid prior to check in (T-24). Can include it in the ticket purchase process, or add to reservation prior to T-24

*edit to note that these are for non-status/general status in regular old main cabin/economy