List of outrageous airline fees continues to grow
Although booking an airline over the Internet is often easier, sometimes we just need to hear a human voice on the other end of the phone. But a $15 to $35 charge to arrange your flight through an agent?
Come on.
Looking for ways to squeeze out more revenue — without scaring off customers by raising fares — airlines have begun charging for the most basic amenities.
Here are a few of the fees that have been branded the most outrageous — either because they seem out of proportion to the service rendered or because they’re really thinly-disguised subsidies for airlines’ operational flaws.
* Ticket change
* Standby travel
* Phone reservation
* Exit row seating
* Peak travel surcharge
* First and second bag surcharge
* Carry on bag charge
* Curbside check in
* Washroom use
* Pillows and blankets
* Unaccompanied minors
What does all this add up to? The amount of hidden fees charged to a typical traveler with two bags ranged from 21% to 153% of the price of the base fare, according to recent analysis from the Consumer Travel Alliance.
What’s next? How about a fee for bringing food aboard? Or a few bucks for asking to move to an empty seat after the plane takes off?
If you're confused about airline fees and would like to make some comparisons, have a look at SmarterTravel’s Airline Fees: The Ultimate Guide. You'll find a one-stop reference chart for every major airline fee from every major U.S. carrier and some Canadian ones to boot.
Which do you see as the worst airline fee going? Have we missed any? Have you found any way around them?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Zionist media control | Aug 12, 2021 2:03:29 PM
Very few people NEED to fly, for most (business and personal) it's a luxury. And as jets produce an extraordinary amount of pollution, I hope the prices keep increasing until people use some (I guess not so) common sense and stop all the frivolous travel.
Posted by: laura taylor | Aug 14, 2021 1:17:58 AM
You only used to have to pay for all luggage when booking thru air canada if you travelled part of the trip with United. I thought you could put one suitcase through and that is fine it is all you should have for a holiday. I have seen some people try and take everything on board so they don't have to pay for luggage and they take up all the overhead space and sometimes the stewardess has to take their luggage to the front so I am glad now they have restrictions for what you take on board as it should be small and not a huge suitcase. Wet jet has no meals you can buy and no free pop drinks and no movies to watch so consider the length of our travel when flying. You can book your seats on line without paying 24 hours before you leave. The complaint I have is when they lose your luggage and you are given a number to call and get someone in India who does not know where Saskatchewan is or has never heard of it, air canada lost our luggage twice on a trip to las Vegas.
Posted by: laura taylor | Aug 14, 2021 1:21:04 AM
Booking - if your booking through the internet in stead of an agent there is no charge or go to one of many expedia, travelocity, etc and book there, you can then choose to fly united or air canada as they offer choices.
Posted by: Ivan Woodward | Aug 14, 2021 8:35:26 AM
Here's an example my sister was travelling from England to Goose Bay, Labrador Via a stop over in St John's, Newfoundland to change planes. Something unexpected happened and she had to change her ticket to stay in St John's, Newfoundland and was charged an additional $400.00 dollars to remove a leg off the original ticket. AIR CANADA is doing nothing more than ripping people off whenever they get a chance.
Posted by: Capitalist | Aug 14, 2021 9:46:00 AM
As usual Canadians are being ripped off for the same goods and services that are much less expensive in the US. The greed of government (taxes & fees) has driven these prices even higher and the government bureaucrats are acting like the CEO's of companies listed on stock markets. Even dysfunctional governments are cashing in on the private sector by starting up online gambling (Ontario) when they cannot even run a province without running into huge deficits. Airlines are now the most despised services there are and there are not many good things to say about any Canadian sleeze airline. Trains or buses are a much nicer mode of transportation as the quality of both has improved greatly and it is much more of a social event than the cattle call of airlines or the humiliation of being interrogated by airport security.
Posted by: allan | Aug 14, 2021 10:46:34 AM
Yes the dreaded fees, Remeber when booking on line YOU ARE the TRAVEL AGT, dont just click I ACCEPT the TERMS/CONDITIONS whithout reading them, it is your fault if you do!!!!! DEAL directly with the Airline/Hotel etc or a Travel AGT. At least the conditions are spelled out and they are more likely to address your concerns. You can save a little NOW and PAY MORE LATER. It is your choice. Avoid (if possible) the LOWEST fares as they have the most restrictions,what else would you expect, they also earn fewer FF Points, and in some cases NONE. If you really want to know your costs. Divide the fare by the # of miles flown,( this = cost per mile). U.S airlines have the LOWEST taxes in the WORLD, but beware of cancelations, time changes etc.When possible fly direct, less likely to lose luggage, miss connections etc. Good luck, and enjoy your trip.
Posted by: joe r cha | Aug 14, 2021 11:14:02 AM
i am planning a trip for my retirement next may,the trip is going to cost my wife and i 2699.00 each,but then i am now informed that there is a cost called airport tax which is going to cost an additional 450 .oo each minimum this i have a problem with as i can't see paying another 1000.00 dollars to some airport
Posted by: Barbara Aaron | Aug 14, 2021 11:37:04 AM
I had to cancel a flight with air canada last year when I was hospitalised with cancer. Then I rebooked a flight this year with the credit, by the way you cannot prebook a seat with a credit, only the flight can come out of the credit. Air Canada wanted $150 in 'change flight' fees, $75 each way.
I emailed them, cannot ever get through on the phone unless you hang on for hours, and told them what I thought about their penalising me because I was sick. Also told them if they stopped 'nickle and diming' their customers to death, they would get more people flying with them.
I actually got a waiver of one of the $75 but still had to pay the other $75.
I cannot understand why they need to be so bad about credits. I think a 2 year period is fine for a credit to expire. if it has to expire, what harm is it doing them just to sit there until you need it. I fly as little as possible, but living on the east coast island in Canada, that's pretty hard. I can fly to the uk and back fior cheaper than from here to Toronto??????
It just does not make sense.
Posted by: dean | Aug 14, 2021 12:00:14 PM
The problem is the CEO mentality that profits must increase every year?
Humm. This is what pays salaries ( and yes CEO'S make way too much ) for staff and pays investors.
Why is making a profit such a bad thing?
Don't fly then if it bothers you so much. EVERYTHING costs money.
BTW. If profits never increase, you would NEVER get a raise. NOT a difficult concept.
Posted by: harry | Aug 14, 2021 12:21:41 PM
well how about the user fees for all the credit cards ,
try to stay in business by supporting all the credit card charges to the merchants ,
this is out of control i think the goverment has to look into all these charges,and adjust accordingly the rulings
Posted by: Don Bartley | Aug 14, 2021 3:39:33 PM
Travelers have a right to get mad. Just think 30.00 dollar air fares and then they want to collect for that 50 kg bag. How unfair. Next time don`t put a gun to my head and force me to fly. After all we can cruise along by bus for 2 plus days or pay to drive our cheep cars at 1.03 per litre and take our overweight trunks. Whinners never win ,, get a life its still a free country.. except for taxes.
Posted by: Android65 | Aug 14, 2021 6:45:59 PM
The fee that irks me the most is the change booking fee. It's done online, requires no labour, and simply substitutes one flight for another.
And for that, they cahrge $50 to $75.
The day will come when passengers and their luggage will have to step on a scale at the ticket counter, and pay by the pound-per mile!
Oops. Now they know too.
Where is the rail system we deserve?
Posted by: Tim | Aug 14, 2021 6:48:18 PM
I always fly Westjet for flights in Canada.2 carry on bags plus 2 checked bags and no extra charge.As for Air Miles,I trade mine in on gas cards it's a way better deal than using them for flights.
Posted by: Sir Richard | Aug 14, 2021 7:21:51 PM
I have an occasional need to fly from TO (YYZ) to Minneaplos-St. Paul, MN, usa. The AC fare is approx. $1200 plus incidentals such as airport tax, security tax and so. Therefore I drive to Buffalo, NY, usa and stay overnight and fly to Minneapolis the next day for less than $500.00. The combined expense is less than the cost on AC to fly direct. Wonder why I continue to boycott AC? Thank s be to god there is lots of competition in the usa....... in Canada there is only Westjet but not everywhere AC flies.
Recently, a group of athletes from Thunder Bay, Ontario attended the Ontario Summer Games. They reportedly had to pay close to $1200 per athlete to fly on Bear Pelt to Sudbury to attend the games. They chose instead to fly on AC to TO and then to Sudbury for far less than that. They saved money, endured a stop over, a mechanical, and arrived 14 hours later.
As they say, time to spare...... go by air. I am certain someone has an adage on the high cost for air travel.
Posted by: BlackCanary | Aug 14, 2021 8:10:01 PM
I wholeheartedly agree with Frugalite.
The way the airline industries treat their passengers is awful. If I have to fly, it's carry-on luggage only, for me.
The only way to make this stop, is to speak to them in a language they understand - BY NOT FLYING and STOP PAYING these outrageous fees.
Telecommunications technology, including webconferencing is slowly eliminating the need for business travel. As long as the general public and businesses continue to pay whatever the airlines think they can get away with, the airlines will continue to charge everyone whatever they please.
I much prefer the train, driving or travelling by sea. Much more relaxing.
BlackCanary
Posted by: Elaine McDonald | Aug 15, 2021 12:06:11 AM
To all the winers out there SUCK IT UP AND WELCOM E TO THE REAL WORLD. Everything has gone up its a fact of life. Air Canada and United airlines provide a very good service. Koodos to them. Get yourself a travel agent and stop being so cheap. If you don,t like the prices stay home
Posted by: Carol Buchanan | Aug 16, 2021 6:31:03 AM
My boyfriend of 10 years and I were charged an additional 227 Euros in Nice by an Air France ticket agent because she decided - just by looking at us - that we couldn't be family. Air France has a family travel plan - a discount if you are family. Air France has a very narrowly defined view of what constitues family that is not apparent when you book tickets on-line and in the resulting reservation confirmation.
The agent howver hadn't even looked at his passport or boarding pass before she decided we were not family. I am white - he is not. I am tall - he isn't so much. She just looked at us with disgust and revulsion and announced "we couldn't be family". Oddly enough, on a previous trip to France we had 2 teenagers in tow - so that meant 4 people with 3 different last names and 4 different addresses - but no one questioned whether or not we were family.
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Posted by: JoJo | Aug 17, 2021 9:45:56 AM
My friend and I came home from Europe in June/10 via Delta Airlines. We each had one piece of luggage and we knew that both were overweight - by less than 10 lbs. Delta charged us $150.00 each. It would have been cheaper for us to have bought another piece of luggage, put our overwight into it, and split the cost of a second piece of baggage. Later I checked out other airlines on the Internet and nobody else even came close to that. In fact, most other airlines do an incremental charge, going by how much you are over - 5 lbs., 10 lbs., etc. ALL airlines refuse any luggage that is 20 lbs. overweight. I will do kmy best to steer clear of Delta, but if it happens, at least I will know ahead of time.