FEE WATCH
Delta ups checked bag fees The cost of checking bags on Delta Air Lines flights just jumped. The airline has discontinued its $2 or $3 discount for paying the domestic checked baggage fee online instead of at the airport. Now travelers will pay $25 for the first checked bag on domestic flights and $35 for the second regardless of how or where the fee is paid. Travelers who use their Delta-branded American Express card to purchase tickets still get one free checked bag.
The fee for a second bag to Canada or Europe has risen from $50 to $60 if paid online or $75 if paid at the airport. Delta is also adding a $30 fee for a second checked bag for flights between the United States and most of Latin America, including Mexico and the Caribbean. In the the case of Canada, Europe and Latin America, the first bag is still free.
KERRI WESTENBERG
TRAVEL Q&A
Q I want to fly to Denver this summer to stay with friends. When is the best time to schedule my vacation to maximize savings?
A Sorry to say that'd be September. I know that doesn't count as summer, but you could find airfare price breaks around then that just won't materialize this summer. The Air Transport Association predicts that a total of 206.2 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines from June through August, about 3 million more passengers than during the same period last year. That increase of 1.5 percent could keep prices steady or on the rise through the busy summer months. Airfares often go down for fall travel.
Answers to travel questions appear weekly in Travel and at startribune.com/escapeartists; send your question by e-mail to travel@startribune.com.
KERRI WESTENBERG
a reader weighs in
'Beef commercial' explainedOn May 29, Travel ran a story on good eats around the state that included mention of a Mankato specialty called the "beef commercial," a hearty open-faced sandwich that involves mashed potatoes, roast beef and gravy. The author and a cook who makes the dish were both stumped by the name. Not reader Kathryn Christenson, who lives down the road in St. Peter. She sent an e-mail with this explanation: "When I was growing up, long before online shopping, America was crisscrossed by the routes of traveling salesmen, otherwise known as commercial travelers. This was also before the days of 'Ladies who Lunch.' Commercial travelers (i.e., salesmen) ate their meals on the road and were the mainstay of Main Street cafes like Mankato's Midtown Tavern. The daily specials were called 'commercials' to appeal to the traveling salesmen. Pass the word along, please!" Consider it done, Kathryn. Read the original story at www.startribune.com/a463.
