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Aug 11, 2008 10:00 pm US/Central
New Airline Fees Can Drive Fares Through The Roof
(CBS 11 News)
First it was meals then; the airlines started charging passengers to check bags. Now, many airline carries are even charging for sodas, pillows, and blankets. The ever growing list of fees to fly can send an already expensive fare through the roof.
CBS 11 News discovered that, when all the dust clears, added fees could have passengers paying some 40-percent more than the base fare.
Ricky Green and his family of eight were flying American Airlines from DFW to Orlando. "We got a pretty good deal on the tickets," Green says. "I got them for about $251 each."
But, that $251 ticket price quickly disappeared behind the added baggage fees that American now charges. The Green family shelled out an extra $260 in fees for their roundtrip vacation. That's more than one entire airfare. "I think it's ridiculous," Green said.
Anne Banas with Smartertravel.com says it's getting harder for consumers to figure out what a flight will actually cost. "The airlines are trying to find ways to increase revenue and make more money," she says. "What makes it especially difficult for the consumer is that they can't compare prices because every airline has a different mix of fees and different prices."
To help make things clearer we asked her to help sort out the numbers.
Banas and her team compared three airlines - Air Tran, U.S. Airways and American Airlines. The prices and fees were for flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Orlando and New York City - two popular family destinations. All the fares and fees are based on one round-trip traveler who checks two bags, orders a non-alcoholic drink and a snack on board.
"One airline might seem like it's the cheapest one, but in the end once you add up all the fees, it might be the most expensive," Banas explained.
That was certainly the case with the flights to Orlando. Both Air Tran and American charged $239 for the ticket, while U.S. Airways came in lower at $176.
Then the fees were added. On the U.S. Airways fare when you add $15 for the first checked bag each way, $25 for the second bag each way, $4 for the beverages and $10 for snacks on both flights – the $176 ticket now costs $270.
"Take an airline like Air Tran which is a low cost carrier," says Banas. "They're pretty good. The only fee they have is a $10 fee for your second checked bag."
American Airlines didn't fair any better coming in as expensive as U.S. Airways. Remember their $239 roundtrip fare to Orlando? Add in the $86 in fees and that trip will actually cost $325!
What about the flights from DFW to New York City? Air Tran had the highest ticket price at $300, compared to $287 on U.S. Airways and $294 on American. But, add the fees and the ticket on U.S. Airways and American soars to $60 more than Air Tran's.
"Say you're traveling with a family of four times $200 isn't so bad," said Banas. "But, once you get into about $360 then it becomes almost unaffordable."
Smartertravel.com now has a list of all the airlines and their fees on its website to make it easier for you to figure out what you're really going to pay. According to Banas the additional charges could be anywhere from $30 to $120 more than the fare you're quoted.
For the Green family, they say despite the added fees, they're still going to fly. "We'd rather fly than drive," they said.
So, the bottom line: for an average family of four to fly on a similar trip like we planned, you can expect to pay between $1200 and $1500 on most airlines. That's about $500 more than this time last year.
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