airline fees posts

Usually when you enter the muddy waters airline fare pricing, things can get confusing.

What you see is not always what you get and the surcharges left out of the advertised bottom line can seriously impact what you end up paying for your ticket to the sun -- and not in a good way. But things are looking up for Canadian travelers.

Air Canada and Porter Airlines Inc. announced last week an all-inclusive airfare policy when it comes to their print ads and websites.

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Does air travel make you happy or nervous?

For many of us, the joy of air travel seems to have disappeared in the past 10 years, with the never ending changes to security requirements, luggage restrictions and the so-called exposure of hidden costs.

Travellers may reminisce happily of the stylish jet age of the 1960s, recently brought back in the debut of the new TV series Pan Am.

But what about the 21st century? Doesn't the arrival of faster commuter aircraft, WiFi and online check-in count?

Travel website Cheapflights.ca recently surveyed travellers to see if the present or the past is preferable when it comes to spending on airline travel.

By Barbara Thau


Flying the friendly skies doesn't feel so friendly these days.

What seems like a mounting list of hidden and not-so-hidden airline fees can make travelers feel like they're being taken for more than just one kind of ride.

And you're not just imagining that flight-related fees seem to be buzzing through more and more of your travel budget. It's a sign of the times.


The airline industry has been hit hard by both high fuel prices and the recession, Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of FareCompare.com, told WalletPop. As a result, it failed to turn a profit in 2009. But that changed last year as consumers started to help foot the bill for the airlines' woes, "mostly on the back of fees," Seaney says.

Fees to check baggage and change a ticket have hit consumers the hardest, he says. But that doesn't mean travelers have no recourse.

Here's a primer on how you can avoid a number of these fees or at least keep them to a minimum.

Bag Checking Fees

First-checked-bag fees started to become widespread in 2008, "coinciding to some degree with the run-up in oil prices," Seaney says.

In July 2008, gas prices peaked at a whopping $140 a barrel.

So on most domestic flights the major carriers now charge about $25 each way for the first checked bag and between $30 and $35 for the second. Prices can really take off if you're traveling as a family.

To avoid that cost, a simple answer is to fly airlines that don't charge for luggage -- that would be Westjet and Air Canada in Canada, and Southwest and JetBlue in the US, Seaney says. (Both Air Canada and Westjet charge CAD$20 for the second piece of checked baggage).

But if that's not an option and you fly often, find out which airlines offer special membership rewards and frequent flier programs that waive baggage-check fees.