Delta is the second-most profitable U.S. airline, but it is the king of bag fees

It's no coincidence that Delta Air Lines had the second-highest operating-profit margin among U.S. airlines in the third quarter and also took in the most checked bag-fee revenue: $233.1 million. Delta's third quarter profit margin of 14.6% (or $1.46 billion in Q3 operating profit) was only eclipsed by the much-smaller Alaska Airlines at 18.7% ($237 million), according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Interestingly, Alaska's third quarter revenue from bag fees was more than $44 million, well up in the BTS ranking in sixth place behind Delta, United, American, US Airways, and Southwest out of 16 airlines covered. Delta generally charges $25, $35 and $125 for the first, second and third checked bags each way, while Alaska charges $20 each. Here's the BTS' bag-fee tallies through the first three quarters of 2012: Baggage Fees by Airline 2012 (numbers in 000) Rank Airline 1Q 2Q 3Q 2012 so far 1 Delta 198,352 231,351 233,123 662,826 2 United 156,761 194,