Jul 21, 2008 4:25 pm US/Eastern
Tacked-On Airline Fees Mask Cost Of Actual Ticket
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Between the surcharges for luggage and food, it's almost impossible to determine what a plane ticket actually costs.
Air traveler Amy Duechman thinks this new system of pricing is unfair.
"We know it is going to cost more. They have extra charges. I say just add them into the ticket in the beginning."
Because the airlines are trying to cover surging fuel costs, they have turned to what's now called "al a carte" ticket pricing. That means a traveler pays for a ticket, and then a whole lot more, item by item.
Anne Banas of
www.smartertravel.com believes the airlines are now nickel and diming the consumer with any kind of fee imaginable. It also makes it very hard to figure out the real price of a flight.
"One airline might seem like it is the cheapest, but in the end, when you add up all the fees, it might actually be the most expensive."
We asked Banas to show how those fares can change with the new fees.
We took one traveler headed to Orlando. We assumed they had one carry on, two checked bags, and ordered a beverage on board. The fares alone were as follows; Air Tran $209; Jet Blue $254; and American $250. When the fees were included the prices changed, sometimes dramatically. Air Tran only went up to $229. Jet Blue climbed up to $294. And American jumped the highest, all the way up to $366. Anne said that this is typical because every airline is doing something different.
Now, www.smartertravel.com is offering consumers some free help. They have created a new web tool which allows travelers to easily compare airlines for the fees they charge, on everything from luggage to the charges for rebooking a flight.
Download the airline fee chart
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