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Cutting airline fees
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You have your trip planned to the last penny, you think. Every hotel room (including those insidious resort fees), every meal, every excursion, the cost of your airline tickets... Until you get to the airport and realize that airline fees are going to make a hefty dent in your travel budget.
It’s no secret airlines are tacking on extra fees wherever they can to add to their bottom line, and with good reason: spending on US domestic airfare dropped 8.7 percent in 2008, according to the US Department of Commerce. To compensate, airlines are charging travelers fees on everything from checked bags to window seats.
What’s a budget traveler to do? First things first: be prepared. Know what fees your airline of choice charges before you book. That bargain basement ticket price might not be such a bargain after you add up all the fees.
Some of the highest in the industry to date include:
- A $25 fee for your first checked bag on Spirit Airlines
- A $30 fee for your second checked bag on Jet Blue and US Air
- An additional $20 to select a window seat on Air Tran
- Internet access for $12.95 on United (compared to $9.95 on other airlines)
- A $100 fee for unaccompanied minors on Continental
- A $25 fee to book a ticket over the phone on Delta
- A $275 fee to fly your pet in the plane’s cargo hold on Delta and Southwest -- possibly more than the cost of your own ticket
- A $150 fee to make changes to your flight itinerary on United
Once you know what kind of fees you are dealing with, compare that ticket price plus fees with those of other airlines to make sure you’re still getting a good deal.
Some airline fees can be avoided. Book your flights online and avoid the phone fee. Several airlines charge a smaller baggage fee if you pay it when you check in online instead of at the airport. Bring a book or your Kindle instead of using in-flight wireless. Be sure of your itinerary at time of booking to avoid change fees. Skirt the issue of paying additional for an emergency exit row or window seat by selecting a non-fee seat when you check in online, and ask the gate agent (not the check-in counter) to change it for you -- by the time the gate is open, the leftover revenue seats are freed up and given out at the agent’s discretion.
If you are a high-standing frequent flier club member, you may not have to pay many of these fees at all. For example, with as little as 25,000 miles US Air Dividend Miles Silver Preferred members earn free upgrades to First Class, receive priority treatment at security and during boarding, and enjoy having fees for standby, baggage and premium seating waived.
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