It's a regular fee-for-all at airlines

The Chicago Tribune has a good article today about the success of its hometown airline, United, in generating ancillary revenue from fees that are separate from air fares. The story cites figures from IdeaWorks, the consultancy we've quoted here before, about how much fee income means to airlines worldwide. Read the story here ..

Airline fees were also the subject a good Government Accountability Office report that came in just as I was starting vacation last week. The report details what the federal governmnent is doing to make sure customers know all the fees they will pay before buying a ticket, the fact that fees are not subject to the federal ticket tax, and the lack of clarity in how to get a refund of taxes and fees paid if a nonrefundable ticket is never used. For those who really want more information about air travel -- and that's the point of this blog -- find the GAO report here.