Travelated» baggage fee http://travelated.com Empowering Travelers one Destination at a Time Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:31:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Airlines Making A ‘Killing’ Off Of Fees http://travelated.com/airlines-making-a-killing-off-of-fees http://travelated.com/airlines-making-a-killing-off-of-fees#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:01:09 +0000 Mike http://travelated.com/?p=243 Even though the number of people flying is down, the revenue of U.S. airlines is going up. During the first six months of 2009, the U.S. airlines have collected $3.8 billion (with a ‘B’) for fees and surcharges such as, pet carrying fees, cancellation fees, baggage check fees, etc. Checked baggage fees are doing especially well for the airlines. Revenue from baggage fees alone was $1.24 billion dollars. The supposed reason for the increase in fees, or addition of new fees, is to offset the current downturn in air travel since 9/11/01. I would not expect the fees to go away, even if air travel picks back up in the future. The airlines are making too much money off of these fees to quit charging them, even if business does pick up. But it seems to reason, that if ticket revenue increased, and the fees were meant to offset the previously low ticket revenue, the fees should drop off. Perhaps that is just too logical for the airlines to pick up on that.

]]> http://travelated.com/airlines-making-a-killing-off-of-fees/feed 3 Hawaiian Airlines Joins the Checked Bag Fee Trend http://travelated.com/hawaiian-airlines-joins-the-checked-bag-fee-trend http://travelated.com/hawaiian-airlines-joins-the-checked-bag-fee-trend#comments Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:47:54 +0000 Alex http://travelated.com/?p=64 Source: Associated Press

Hawaiian Airlines has announced that it will begin charging a ten dollar ($10) fee for checked bags starting on Septermber 14th.

This is an unfortunate, yet rapidly growing trend in the airline industry. Hawaiian’s complaints seem to be the same as other airlines; rising costs are not being completely met by airfare alone.

Travelers should expect baggage fees at this point, and smart travelers will figure baggage fees into their budgets when planning vacations. If you fail to plan for baggage fees you could find yourself unexpectedly short on cash since these fees can add up quickly. Think about it, a family of four each checking just one bag would cost $40 each way. That’s $80 just for checking baggage for one vacation. In some cases that could be the cost of a one way flight!

Get used to it though, baggage fees are here to stay.

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