Avoiding Sneaky Airline Fees
"A la carte" pricing may help you save money in a restaurant, but it's costing airline passengers big bucks.
Longtime travel guru Peter Greenberg, author of "Tough Times, Great Travels: The Travel Detective's Guide to Hidden Deals, Unadvertised Bargains, and Great Experiences," visited The Early Show Monday with word on many of the newest -- and sneakiest -- fees and how quickly they can add up, and tips on avoiding as many as possible.
There's no doubt that travelers are enjoying a buyer's market right now. According to Greenberg, we haven't seen one this big or long in 33 years! The deals encompass hotel, resort and rental car rates, along with airfares.
But it was the airfares Greenberg focused on Monday.
Airlines have a lot of empty seats to fill so they can't raise fares (due to the law of supply and demand). But they're still desperate to raise money any way they can. So, welcome to the new reality of paying fees for everything in connection with your flight. That enables airlines to effectively raise your fare by $60 or more (a lot more!), without actually advertising higher fares.
Believe it or not, it was only about a year ago that American Airlines opened the floodgates for a la carte pricing, beginning to charge passengers for checking bags. American was the first major carrier to impose such a fee, and almost every other carrier has now followed suit. In 2008, the major airlines raked in more than $1.1 billion in luggage fees.
Unfortunately, being charged to check a suitcase is now old news. But proving just how pervasive these fees have gotten, even Southwest Airlines -- the discount carrier that built entire promotional campaigns around the fact that it doesn't charge passengers extra fees like its competitors -- just announced it would start charging $25 for overweight bags or to check a third bag, along with a couple of additional fees. After years of outperforming the rest of the airline industry, Southwest lost $91 million in the first quarter of 2009.
So now, we all expect to pay a fee of some sort to check our bags. And if your bags are oversized or overweight, you'll REALLY be hit with some big fees -- as much as $200.
But some other fees may catch travelers by surprise.
US Airways - As of July 9, $20 for the first bag, $30 for the second if you check at the airport. $15 for the first and $25 for the second if you check in online.
United - As of May 14, charges $20 for the first and $30 for the second at the airport; $15 for the first and $25 for the second if you check in online
Spirit - $25 each for the first and second bags at the airport; $19 for the first bag and $25 for the second if you check in online. Spirit also charges a flat fee of $75 each leg for all sporting equipment except for golf clubs. Does that $75 sound excessive to you? Peter believes the discount airline is the *worst* when it comes to fees.
Airlines aren't the only ones nickel-and-diming you when you fly
Quietly, a number of airports have been jacking up parking fees, and prices at retail outlets are heading skyward, Greenberg said. Then, there's something called the PFC, the passenger facility charge. It's built into the cost of your ticket, so you don't notice it specifically, but airports are proposing an increase. With this increase, the PFC on a roundtrip ticket with one stop could cost you an additional $28; a family of four would be looking at an additional $112.
These fees can add up quickly
Here's an example:
LA to NYC (coach) = $285
BOOKING ON THE PHONE $30
CHECKING TWO BAGS $40
SELECTING A SEAT $29
FOOD ON THE PLANE $10
NEW TOTAL = $394
The $70 for booking on the phone and checking bags represents a 25 per cent fare increase, and that assumes the bags don't weigh more than 50 pounds each! If the person in this example wanted to check a dog, it would cost an additional $300, more than the initial cost of the basic airline ticket itself!
SKIRTING THE FEES
The most important thing you can do is to pack lightly: Carry on your bags, and if you're checking any, be sure they don't exceed weight limits.
But if this isn't for you:
One amusing break from all these fees: A hotel in Southern California called the Rancho Bernardo Inn allows guests to choose amenities they're willing to do WITHOUT to lower their room rate. Rooms there start at $219.
The reduced rates:
$219 deluxe accommodations plus breakfast for two
$199 without breakfast
$179 without honor bar
$159 without A/C or heat
$139 without pillows
$109 without sheets
$89 without lights
$59 without linens
$39 without toiletries
$19 without bed