Among the carriers are Delta Air Lines and SkyWest Airlines, which flies as Delta Connection. They'll start charging coach passengers a $25 fee to check a second bag, hoping to offset record fuel prices.

The fees are for one-way travel, so passengers flying round-trip will pay twice as much. First-class and international travelers are exempt.

"The increase is due to the rising fuel costs and other business decisions that reflect today's competitive landscape," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Friday.

That's little comfort to passengers who have watched airlines eliminate pillows from their planes, tack on fuel surcharges, pull service from some markets and stuff more passengers into smaller jets in their quest to be profitable.

"Drinks have been axed. Miserable food has been axed. What's next? Are we going to have to go out and refuel the plane?" asked Brian Wilson, who flew on Delta from Burbank, Calif., to Salt Lake City on Friday.

"I'm just sick of being chiseled, and this is one more excellent example of being chiseled."

On Friday, crude oil prices topped $116 a barrel, more than 70 percent higher than a year ago. The relentless rise has forced several airlines into the red or into bankruptcy.

Last month, Delta - the prominent carrier at Salt Lake City's airport - reported a net loss of $6.4 billion, largely to reflect the impact of fuel prices on its stock market value.

Other carriers that will collect fees for second bags are Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines (flying for Continental and Delta), Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways will start charging coach passengers a $25 fee to check a second bag, the latest move by airlines to offset record fuel prices.

Another two carriers will impose fees within days. American Airlines will start collecting $25 for second bags May 12. JetBlue Airways will charge $20 beginning June 1. Budget carriers Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines say they have no plans to charge for second bags.

While acknowledging the effect of fuel prices on profits, some experts question the wisdom of imposing baggage fees just before the start of the summer flying season. On Thursday, an American Pulse Survey conducted by BIGresearch found 45 percent of consumers will cut back on their vacation budgets to cope with the current economic environment.

"The airlines are trying to recoup fuel costs as much as they can and they are largely charging leisure travelers in that initiative. So it's a gamble. [They] are running a risk of losing those passengers altogether," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, who thinks the fees will hurt leisure travelers most.

''Business travelers generally avoid checking a bag like the plague. They don't want to do that,'' Mitchell said.

Airlines are looking in every direction to save money, from flying their planes slower to simply carrying less fuel. Delta conserves 147,000 gallons of fuel, or $456,000, from one plane in one year by eliminating a case of 24 Coke cans, Black said.

Delta isn't saying what it expects to save or how much new revenue it expects to rake in from baggage fees. Other airlines haven't been so reticent. JetBlue believes it will generate more than $20 million a year. United estimates that changes to its baggage policies will bring in $100 million.

The airlines will collect baggage fees at their ticket counters. Delta passengers also can pay at curbside or at check-in kiosks. They'll be able to pay online sometime later this month.

"I think it's stupid. You're already paying to fly. Why pay more," said Delta passenger Kathy Vail.

$25 fee for 2nd suitcase Getting raise

Delta Air Lines employees will get a 3 percent pay raise this summer, despite a first-quarter net loss of of $6.4 billion due to soaring fuel costs and a sharp decline in the carrier's stock-market value. Noncontract employees will receive their increases July 1. Salaried employee raises will depend on performance, CEO Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian said Friday in a memo. The raises come as Delta's 12,000 flight attendants are voting on whether to join the Association of Flight Attendants. Voting ends June 3.

* Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, ExpressJet Airlines (flying for Continental and Delta), Northwest Airlines, SkyWest Airlines (flying for Delta), United Airlines and US Airways.

* American Airlines will start collecting $25 for second bags May 12.

* JetBlue Airways will charge $20 beginning June 1.