FAIRBANKS - Alaska Airlines is bagging its bag fees.

The airline announced Tuesday it will eliminate fees for as many as two checked bags for Alaskans traveling outside the state. The airline currently charges a $20 fee per bag on such routes.

The change is part of a new Alaskans-only benefits program dubbed “Club 49” by the Seattle-based carrier, which offers the only regular winter passenger jet service in Fairbanks. The changes will take effect Nov. 1.

Alaska Airlines began charging bag fees in July 2009, joining a growing industry trend of setting new fees for luggage, meals and other services.

In-state flights from 19 Alaska communities weren’t included in the change; passengers on those flights have been allowed to check as many as three bags without charge.

In general, however, bag fees have been credited with helping the air travel industry maintain profits in an era of high fuel prices and an overall weak economy. Airlines brought in a combined $784 million in baggage fees in the first three months of 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The company’s regional vice president, Marilyn Romano, said “real dollars” will be lost by not collecting those fees on some passengers but that at least some of that money could be recovered by passengers attracted to flights they might not otherwise take.

As a whole, she said, the airline believes the changes make good business sense.

“I think there are benefits when you do something that benefits your customers,” Romano said.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Tuesday the amount in bag fees the airline currently gets from Alaskans wasn’t immediately available and would likely be considered private information.

Romano, a former Fairbanks Daily News-Miner publisher who joined the airline in August, announced the program at a Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The airline held similar events in Anchorage and Juneau timed to coincide with Alaska Day.

“Our roots are here,” Romano said. “The start of the airline was in Alaska. The word Alaska is on every plane.”

Club 49 is available only to Alaska residents who are members of the airline’s mileage plan.

The program will also include a “travel now” discount program, offering two certificates each year for 30 percent off of most one-way flights purchased within four days of travel.

A fare sale on selected routes, available to both Alaskans and non-residents, will also be revived each Tuesday.

Romano said the changes address the three most common customer complaints the airline receives — bag fees, fare prices and the cost of emergency ticket purchases.

“For us, it really came down to feedback from customers,” she said.

Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518.