Airline passengers fed up with fees; How to avoid them.
Most airline passengers are “fed up” with the litany of fees tacked onto the base rate of a plane ticket, says Anne Banas, executive editor of Smarter Travel.
“Everyone has a horror story,” says Christopher Muise, a former longtime Delta employee and founder of Atlanta-based TruPrice.net.
No matter who you ask — from passengers to legislators to travel experts — there is consensus about ancillary fees: They are confusing and potentially expensive.
In 2009, airlines collected $7.8 billion in fees. Only Spirit Airlines has taken the extreme measure of charging for a carry-on bag. Still, others have collected in other ways. Delta has free blankets but charges $150 to change a domestic flight. US Airways sells a blanket, pillow, eye shades and earplugs pack for $7. American Airlines charges $4 for food. By comparison, Air Tran is not among the greatest offenders.
“Now they’ll charge you for any and everything,” frequent flier, Suresh Rajapakse said of airlines.
The onus is on customers to uncover the fees and add all of the extra expenses onto their fares.
While there are sites like SmarterTravel.com and Kayak.com that display fees, TruPrice.net, which launched in beta form in June, is the only Web site currently that has 45 fees and adds them up for you. You enter your fare, then check off the items you anticipate using, like purchasing extra leg room, snacks and Wi Fi service for instance. It gives you an accurate final tally — something airlines themselves aren’t always as clear about.
Sen. Jim Webb (Va.) has introduced the Airline Baggage Transparency and Accountability Act that proposes forcing airlines to make the hidden fees more transparent. It would also force them to pay taxes on the fees they collect.
“Airlines are making a fortune,” Muise said. “They do not want to post fees because it’s a competitive disadvantage.”
However, it would help consumers. His site, TruPrice, is also days away from adding rental car fees to its service. So, the costs of adding a car seat and GPS navigation system to your rental will be obvious from the beginning of the process.
With a little effort, consumers can get around some of the fees. Eating a meal before you travel, bringing along a jacket and travel pillow, packing light to avoid checking multiple bags, checking bags online and booking travel electronically can all help.
“It’s a much different process than it used to be,” Banas said.
Have you been unexpectedly hit with fees by an airline? Do you consider the fees before purchasing a ticket?
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20 comments Add your comment
Metasearch: Airline passengers fed up with fees; How to avoid them. – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Travelzeen | e-Travel | Travel 2.0
August 12th, 2010
7:25 am
[...] Airline passengers fed up with fees; How to avoid them. Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) While there are sites like SmarterTravel.com and Kayak.com that display fees, TruPrice.net, which launched in beta form in June, is the only Web site … [...]
SouthernGal
August 12th, 2010
8:26 am
Why should the airlines feed you for free?
Ted Striker
August 12th, 2010
8:29 am
Great column, Rana. Thanks.
hdhd
August 12th, 2010
8:39 am
Yeah, airline food stinks anyway. I would much rather just buy a nice meal before or have a sandwich at home before leaving. At least that way I don’t have the slobbering sod next to me sneezing on my $6 soggy sandwich. I guess people don’t realize that you can bring food with you onto the plane. Crackers and cheese make a great snack. Bring an empty bottle and fill it up once you get past security (tap water still free?). Saw a guy sitting there eating some homemade lasagna on flight, people looked mad. All I ask for is a bar in the airport to have a nice stiff drink or two and then no one touching me or my seat so I can just sleep through the flight.
Ugh, don’t get me started on people and airplane bathrooms. Really, you have to go 15 minutes into the flight?
Fees are here to stay. Whatever. If you can’t go to an airlines website and look up the fees, I question your ability to get yourself on the plane without the government holding your hand there too.
Angela
August 12th, 2010
8:54 am
I don’t care anything about blankets, food, drinks, and pillows as I prefer my own stuff anyway, but I think the fees for bags are a bit excessive. It causes way too much drama in regards to carry on luggage. First bag should always be free, let them charge a fee for the second bag. Maybe then folks will learn to pack conservatively.
Mary
August 12th, 2010
9:27 am
Started flying last year with just a carry-on — shipped clothes, etc. via UPS the week before. So easy.
Tinytam
August 12th, 2010
9:48 am
Great column, Rana! I know some airlines also allow you to ship your baggage ahead of your flight for a discounted price using FedEx or UPS. There is a company that is dedicated to shipping luggage ahead and insurance is sometimes included in the shipping cost. I travel with a young child most of the time so it can be a hassle to lug around a bag but there has to be some way to avoid the high fees. I think that it’s hilarious that Southwest had an entire ad campaign highlighting that bags fly free with them!! Wish they flew out of Atlanta!
jdawg34
August 12th, 2010
10:10 am
Guess the FTC will have to enter the picture like the funeral industry….and itemize every single thing including a sugar pack….I only fly on the long hauls now, the prices with baggage and so on will help with fuel for car…..things are going to change…..
Atlanta Journal Constitution lauds TruPrice as a difference maker. | Did You TruPrice Your Airfare?
August 12th, 2010
11:14 am
[...] TruPrice as a difference maker. Posted on 12 August 2010 by Christopher Muise As mentioned here by Rana Cash (appropriate name), the AJC’s Bargain Hunger singles out TruPrice as the sole [...]
Richard Mumford
August 12th, 2010
1:17 pm
“Airlines are making a fortune” Muise said. “they do not want to post….”
Come on, you can’t repeat that with a straight face!!! On what planet are they making a fortune???
That is such an ignorant comment I can’t even begin!!!
THERE IS NO INDUSTRY MORE COMPETITIVE THAN THE AIRLINES.
You are all complaining that you have to pay for something at 35,000 feet but have no problem with popcorn and a drink at the movies for 10.00!!!
I wish the airlines made enough money so they did not have to take my retirement away after 30 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How am I going to pay for a movie with popcorn and a drink???
Steven
August 12th, 2010
3:03 pm
There is no earthly reason for any airline to charge $150 to change a reservation except to 1) discourage changes and 2) gouge those who have to make a change for even legitimate reasons. A $25 fee to cover costs PLUS the extra cost (if any) of the difference would be reasonable.
There’s one other reason: say I buy a ticket for $300, and then see that Delta has reduced the fare on that route to $200. I should get a refund, right?? NO….. if I want the lower price I have to “change” my ticket. So to get my $100 “refund” I have to PAY $150 in change fees. What a nice way to get around company policy which usually states you can get a lower fare if published.
I’m still waiting for that airline passenger bill of rights similar to what we just got concerning credit card fees and charges. I think REASONABLE fees and charges make sense— but the airlines are getting away with anything they want.
Christopher Muise
August 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
“Airlines are making a fortune” Muise said. “they do not want to post….”
Come on, you can’t repeat that with a straight face!!! On what planet are they making a fortune???
Yes, I can repeat it with a straight face. They are making a fortune on ancillary fees. Given that the entire article was based on fees, one would think you’d make the connection that I was referring to fees and not their overall revenue. “According to a forecast issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline industry will take in $ 58 billion in ancillary fees in 2010.” I’m challenged to consider $58 billion less than a fortune. Christopher Muise – President, TruPrice.
Ole Guy
August 12th, 2010
5:10 pm
Some hints:
* two Subway samiches, in a large plastic bag, fit nicely in a brief case, preferably the crushable type. When you purchase these, best not to have them put any liquids in the samich, otherwise, in a few hours, you’ll have a soggy mess. Next time your at your favorite fast food barfatorium, pick up a few extra what-have-you packets.
For this purpose, I get the Veggie Delights. That way, there’s no meat to potentially stink up the place.
* I see people, all the time, trying to force these “rigid-framed” bags into the overhead. Ditch those things and get a ruck which can be “molded” to more-easly fit. Sometimes, you can even stick the ruck under the seat. If, in packing, you find yourself in an “overflow” situation, place the overflow items in an auxiliary bag within the main bag. If the main bag won’t fit, simply remove the “aux” bag and stick it somewhere. If your a freqy flyer, they let you on the aircraft early-on, whether you’ve got a 1st class bump-up or not…this will give you a little time to “square your stuff away”.
* If you must do a “gate check”, no big deal (until they start charging for that).
* Give the cabin crew a break. Oftentimes, when disembarking, as I pass some seats, the general area looks like a bunch of 1st graders were there and simply left all their trash lying about.
Jack Booted Thug
August 13th, 2010
11:04 am
Or better yet…dont fly.
Ole Guy
August 13th, 2010
4:12 pm
Jack, I’m with you on that one. I can probably count, on one hand, the number of flights, in the last 10 years, which I’ve either done on my own dime or on points. Quite frankly, the airlines, since the 50s/60s era of the CAB, have been the most-spoiled labor group…the most-spoiled industry…and it is not until the abolishment of the Civil Aeronautics Board, in the early 70s, that the industry (all-too-slowly) realized that in order to remain competitive, they would have to adopt logical fiscal policies, both in terms of internal operations (pay scales) and external expenditures.
My job has me going from one corner of the Country to the other, oftentimes within a few days. To this day, I find it absolutely incredulous that, for a flight lasting either side of 90 minutes, they have to serve up the Coke and peanuts routine. This, of course, is a holdover from the days when the same flight served up a full meal to all on board. These expenses, on a grand scale, eventually caught up, and lead to the current-day difficulties the airlines are experiencing.
Historically, the air carrier industry has probably exhibited the most-arrogant behavior. That arrogance continues today in the form of fees for just about everything that goes on.
For business flying, about 2-4 times a month, I’ll fly whomever my employer asks me to. For personal travel, more than a few hundred miles, it’s either military Space “A” (Space Available), points, or the choo choo.
Brian
August 13th, 2010
4:34 pm
OH NO!!! Not a profitable airline industry! We are entitled to cheap flights, free food, all the luggage we can drag through the airport AND we should get seats that are as plush as our “built for the American waist line” couch we sit on at home!
Airlines are seemingly in a no-win situation these days. Years of stagnant ticket prices have led to the near destruction of the industry, leaving people bashing management for poor business practices but when airlines raise fares or add fees everyone is furious about the “out of control” prices and fees. Why are airlines not allowed to be profitable?
Furthermore, why are airlines responsible for making fees and prices easy to compare? We don’t demand retailers put their price and their competitors price side by side but for some reason the general public thinks airlines should do it.
Overall, while airline travel isn’t what we all remember it to be, we often don’t remember it correctly. If we did that, we’d be much more satisfied with today’s industry.
Ole Guy
August 13th, 2010
9:20 pm
Brian, for too many years, both the air carrier industry and the flying public expected far more then the basic service of commuter transport. You get on a bus, a taxi, a train, etc, and all you get (all you can possibly expect) is transport from point “a” to point “b”. Ever since the early days of commercial air transport, the need (perceived or otherwise) for enroute sustenance was a big selling point. In the 30s, when flying to almost any destination took up the major part of the day, in-flight meals/snacks were almost a necessity. Now, a coast-to-coast flight, minus ground transportation, takes a mere handfull of hours, yet the flying public expects an inflight banquet, repleat with cabin personnel whose primary duties…once safety officers…has been downgraded to butlers and hand maidens. Back in the industry glory days, the 50s and 60s, the carriers were all-too-anxious to supply all these extras, at no additional cost. Consequently, while the airlines became “fat and sassy”, the flying public got spoiled into expecting more and more beyond simple transportation. I see it all the time, particularly the so-called liesure flyers; I want to smack em around and nail their butts to their chairs.
Sure, airlines are allowed to seek profitability. However, they blew their chances when, following the disbanment of the CAB in the early 70s, they thought they could remain competitive while maintaining the opulence of an earlier era…THEY FAILED TO ADAPT TO CHANGING ECONOMIC REALITY. You’ll notice the profitable carriers, today, are your no-frills operators, while the “bigies”, with all the fluff, are struggling.
There are two books: SPLASH OF COLORS (Brannif) and FROM THE CAPTAIN TO THE COLONEL (Eastern) which cover many of the issues which permeated the industry in eras past; which haunt, to this day, the entire industry culture.
Avery
August 14th, 2010
5:17 pm
The pro-airline posters crying about how competitive the airline industry is may want to look at the recent anti-trust lawsuits caused by airlines colluding on these very fees the article is talking about. If you and a “competitor” jointly agree to raise or institute fees, you are not being “competitive”, you are expropriating consumers and damaging competitive markets.
babybecks
August 18th, 2010
1:02 pm
This industry has absolutely no respect for its customers whatsoever. It’s obnoxious and irritating. Most businesses would not survive if they treated their customers with the total disdain that airlines do.
Must be nice to have a lock on the market!
FAMUAKA
August 18th, 2010
2:21 pm
I have learned how to roll my clothes very tightly for packing. I have been able to take my a carry on and a personal bag(oversized purse). I pack my purse, clothes and much more into the personal bag. It’s always a way to beat the system being that the system always seem to beat us.