WASHINGTON — Finding the best deal on a flight has become a lot more difficult, thanks to hefty baggage and service fees that consumers often don’t know about until they show up at the airline counter, congressional investigators say.
Those fees are not part of the ticket price, meaning they can easily go unseen until it’s too late for the consumer to shop around. Amounting to billions of dollars for the airlines, the fees also are exempt from an excise tax, and some lawmakers want to reclaim that money for the Treasury.
Airlines, travel agents, online travel services and other ticket-distribution channels should be required to disclose fees for checked baggage, changed reservations and other services in a clear and consistent manner, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday.
Since 2007, many airlines have been charging for services that were traditionally included in the price of a ticket. That has improved airline bottom lines in a tough economy but raised the ire of travelers who find themselves nickeled-and-dimed to substantially higher costs.
Besides checked bags, some airlines charge fees for seat selection, extra leg room, prime spots in boarding lines, blankets, pillows, drinks and meals.
“Those fees can be an unexpected shock totaling hundreds of dollars,” said Charles Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance.
In the last budget year, 10 U.S. airlines collected $7.8 billion in such fees, congressional accountants say. The leader was Delta Air Lines, the world’s largest airline, with $1.6 billion.
Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., who led a House hearing Wednesday on the matter, told airlines that the public will push back “and then Congress will act” if the industry does not show restraint with the fees.
“That’s not a threat,” he said. “That’s history.”
Airlines say fees benefit passengers because they allow airlines to keep ticket prices down and because consumers pay only for services they use.
A few fees can add up
A breakdown of some set by Denver International Airport’s largest carriers:
Baggage
United: Economy, $25 first bag, $35 second bag; first or business class, free. Online check in: first bag, $23; second bag, $32.
Frontier: Economy, $20 first bag, $30 second bag (summer special: second bag for $1); Classic, Classic Plus and Frontier’s elite Ascent and Summit frequent-flier-program members are allowed to check two free bags.
Southwest: First two bags free
Change fee
United: $150
Frontier: Economy, $100; Classic, $50; Classic Plus, free
Southwest: None
Extra legroom
United: $9-$109
Frontier: $25 per segment
Southwest: None
Priority seating
United: $9-$109
Frontier: None
Southwest: $15-$30
Unaccompanied minor
United: $99
Frontier: $50
Southwest: $50
Pets (one-way)
United: $250 as checked baggage; $125 as carry-on
Frontier: $150 as checked baggage; $75 as carry-on
Southwest: Does not accept as checked baggage; $75 as carry-on
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, the airline-fee information incorrectly described who can check free bags with
Frontier Airlines. Classic, Classic Plus and Frontier’s elite
Ascent and Summit frequent-flier-program members are allowed to
check two free bags.
