Delta will raise the fee for checked luggage starting Wednesday, according to a statement from the airline to CNBC, with the first bag on a domestic flight costing $45 and the second $55. Passengers who want to check a third bag will pay $200.
The news comes after United Airlines raised the price of checked bags for a domestic flight by $10 last week. JetBlue raised its fees last week to $39 during off-peak periods for most economy passengers, up from $35. But travelers flying during peak times will now pay $49, up from $40.
The fees at all three airlines are being raised to offset the skyrocketing cost of jet fuel ever since President Donald Trump decided to start a war in Iran on Feb. 28. The average jet fuel price for Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York is currently $4.69 per gallon, up significantly from $2.50 just before the war.
Other businesses have announced fuel surcharges in recent weeks, including Amazon, which plans a 3.5% fuel surcharge for third-party sellers starting April 17. The U.S. Postal Service plans an 8% fuel surcharge on some packages starting April 26.
The price of fuel, including gasoline and diesel, has spiked over the past month because the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to most international shipping. President Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran to open the Strait or face complete destruction. But Iran seems unlikely to give in to Trump’s demands, given how unhinged the president sounds on a daily basis. Twenty percent of the world’s oil supply flows through the Strait.
Trump published a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning that can only be described as apocalyptic and genocidal. The president has given Iran a deadline of 8 p.m. ET tonight to comply with his demands or be destroyed.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
Regime change more commonly refers to the complete upheaval of a government, not merely a change in a handful of selected leaders.
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” wrote Trump.
Wall Street seemed relatively blasé about Trump’s threats, with one CNBC host taking a very matter-of-fact attitude when discussing Trump’s latest threats.
“Let’s talk about tonight, this deadline that President Trump has set, 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization. How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?” CNBC host Sara Eisen asked.
The commentator responded that it was hard to discern whether Trump was being serious: “We don’t even know if 8 o’clock is going to stick. We’ve had these deadlines pushed off. So you have to remain open to a lot of scenarios.”
Airlines are cancelling flights, oil prices are through the roof, and thousands more U.S. troops have been positioned around Iran in the past two weeks. Nobody knows if Trump is actually going to commit to boots on the ground in an attempt to “take the oil,” as the president phrases it. But most experts will tell you that even if the U.S. suddenly leaves Iran alone, the country’s leadership has no incentive to open the Strait and help lower the price of oil.
Trump keeps threatening to commit war crimes by destroying civilian infrastructure in Iran, including power plants and bridges. But given his ramped-up rhetoric today, social media is abuzz with concerns that he could even use nuclear weapons at some point.
When the old Kamala Harris X account tweeted a clip of Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, explaining that he had implied Trump may use nuclear weapons, the White House responded directly.
Literally nothing @VP said here "implies" this, you absolute buffoons https://t.co/7JU3wXMaWX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026
“Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons,” the White House wrote. Let’s hope they’re right.
