Even as overall baggage fees have increased, some of the nation’s biggest airlines aren’t collecting as much as they did a …
airline fees
One Airline That Stubbornly Refuses to Pile on the Fees (For Now)
Most airlines view fees for baggage and ticket changes as easy, highly lucrative revenue streams. Southwest Airlines views them quite differently: If it added baggage fees on par with other carriers, Southwest says it would lose …
Oof! Airline Fees Rise Yet Again: At Least $200 to Change a Flight
This week, United Airlines jacked up fees on passengers who need to adjust travel plans. For flights within the U.S., customers must fork over at least $200 (up from $150) for changing tickets.
Air Travel by the Pound and Other Odd Airline Pricing Schemes
After tiny upstart carrier Samoa Air announced it would start charging passengers based on how much they weigh, travelers reacted by calling the pricing model wacky, impractical, even discriminatory. But it’s only one of several weird, possibly unwelcomed ways that flights might be priced down the line.
Flight Prices to Get Personal? Airfares Could Vary Depending on Who Is Traveling
Travelers are annoyed by the very real possibility that they’ll sit down on a plane next to someone who paid much less for the same flight. Potential changes to how flights are priced in the future could be even more annoying.
End of New Airline Fees? Nation’s Most Fee-Crazy Airline Is Tapped Out of Ideas
For years, airlines have rolled out new fees to foist onto passengers like clockwork—see American Airlines and Southwest Airlines as the two latest examples. There is somewhat of a silver lining, though: With every new fee …
Ugh, More Airline Fees: Want a Decent Seat on Southwest? Pay Up
Et tu, Southwest? A relative absence of fees and an overall nonelitist, democratic approach to airline travel are among the reasons Southwest Airlines has been so successful. A new fee — $40 to be among the first on the plane …
New Low for Flying? Standing-Room-Only Flights Possible
The term jet-setter is still applied to travelers heading to chic, exciting places. But by now, after years of enduring countless fees, painfully long airport waits and humiliation by way of clothing removal and body scans, travelers should know that the era when flying equated to glamour is long gone.
As Airline Fees Top $36 Billion, Is Relief in Sight for Fee-Weary Travelers?
A new study estimates that airlines around the globe will charge $36.1 billion in fees for things like checked luggage, seat reservations, and in-flight meals this year. That’s an all-time high, and an 11% increase over the 2011 total.
Coming Soon? Airline Tickets That Cost Extra After You Purchase Them
It’s become common for airlines to add fuel surcharges onto flight prices. Passengers pay these mandatory charges when they book tickets, which is sometimes months before they fly. During the time between purchase and travel, …
That’s Some Quirky Marketing Strategy: CEO Calls His Customers ‘Idiots’
Michael O’Leary, the CEO of the fee-happy European airline Ryanair, isn’t scared of a little controversy. In fact, he seems to actively welcome it, periodically making outrageous statements (“The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them”) and announcing possible new money-makers for the airline such as in-flight porn …
It’s Not Just Airlines: Hotel Fees on Pace to Reach Record High in 2012
In the travel world, fees charged by airlines get the most attention, and for good reason: Fliers forked out $22.6 billion in airlines fees last year, on top of flight prices that seem to be hiked higher every other month. …
