Do airline fees confuse you? You're not alone
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Winging It
Do airline fees confuse you? You're not alone
Tom Belden
A small chorus of critics say that airlines aren't doing enough to let customers know what fees they may or will have to pay as part of the price of a ticket. The "a la carte" fees, for things like checked bags, the best seats on a flight and speaking to a human on the phone, have become popular with most airlines (Southwest excepted, which is sticking with a no-fees policy) because they're generating revenue at a time that air traffic has fallen because of the recession.
One of the better resources we've seen for fee information is on Rick Seany's FareCompare Web site. But are the airlines providing enough information when you book a flight about what it will really cost? Learn more about what the critics are saying in a story from Reuters here.
Let's see... The airlines put in the "ala carte" pricing when the price of oil was $140.00 a barrel.. now $38.00 a barrell,, If they contracted to buy at the high end price of oil, theat's on them..Now.. less passengers,, fewer seats to sell, less traffic, and now the airlines have found a cash cow...not only that, but, Usairways charges to put miles BACK into your account when you cancel a flight that you used the miles for,,so you pay for the flights to get to 25,000 miles,,, they charge you $25.00 to use the miles for a free flight and then charge youi $150.00 to put the miles YOU PAID for back into your account.....except southwest airlines, who still know the difference between a passenger and a customer.. YHS- There is certainly a great divide occurring between casual travelers (passengers) and business flyers (almost customers). The folks with the Gold/Silver/whatever level are not as exposed to these nickel+dime fees (e.g., free checked bags). That and some airlines like AA have made it harder to sustain a level. Having said all that, there are still some fair fares that can be found nowadays. Interestingly enough,— cadguy
