American final legacy carrier to add $25 second bag fee

Well, folks, it's all over except the crying.

Over the past few weeks, we've seen airline after airline heap

fees

upon travelers checking a second bag. Several low-cost carriers did it, including JetBlue and AirTran, and all of the legacy lines were in on the game as well—except one.

That lone holdout, American, is now adding a fee of its own, effective May 12. Passengers will have to cough up

$25 each way

for a second checked bag, with a few

exceptions

made, mostly for elite frequent flyers and first- or business-class passengers.

Travelers can now expect an extra charge for a second checked bag on just about every major airline in the country. Southwest is the only member of this group that doesn't levy such a fee, though it does collect $25 for a third checked bag and $50 thereafter. Southwest is also the only airline to post a first-quarter profit this year, thanks largely to fuel hedging moves that have saved the carrier millions.