On the Spot: Airline fees are getting out of control
Question: I am flying United Airlines from LAX to Honolulu. United is charging me an additional $98 to sit in “economy plus.” So rather than $364 for my flight, with taxes, luggage fees and this “economy plus,” I’m paying $498. Are all airlines squeezing customers like this?
Karen Reisdorf
San Clemente, Calif.
Answer: Yes. Welcome to a brave new world of aviation economics that has spawned new pricing structures that airlines think will help them battle the dual Godzillas: fuel prices and economic downturn. You’ll increasingly see new and sometimes surprising fees.
In a discussion last fall about fees with Richard Gritta, professor of finance and transportation at the University of Portland, Ore., he asked me, with a hint of laughter in his voice, “What’s next? Paying for the bathroom?”
I’m not sure whether he’s omniscient or just acutely aware of airline economics (I suspect both), but you will recall that in February, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, the European budget airline, said the company was considering charging 1 pound to use the loo.
O’Leary has a history of making outrageous remarks, so we will take his suggestion with a grain of salt. But there is a glimmer of truth in his glibness.
Airlines, until recently, played the yield management game — that is, charging based on what the market would bear. But now they have introduced what economics professor George Hoffer of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond calls “marginal cost of service pricing.”
“Unless you try to identify marginal costs, you wind up with this ‘cross-subsidization’ where people who don’t impose a lot of cost on the airline have to subsidize those who do,” said Hoffer, who specializes in transportation issues. “Baggage is the best example.” If you have no baggage, you’re essentially paying for another passenger’s luggage (extra weight being the enemy of fuel consumption).
But airlines get in trouble with the public when they carry fees to the extreme. Hoffer objects to the fees they charge for re-booking a ticket and to making passengers pay for drinks, pillows and blankets, calling those “mean-spirited.”
Charging for extra legroom, in his view, falls into a permissible category, because airlines are giving up revenue to give you more legroom (more space, fewer seats, fewer to sell). But he draws the line at airlines that “intimidate you into a higher price, almost like a come-on.”
That’s how I felt when I recently booked a ticket on Midwest Airlines. It was a good fare, but there were no plain old seats left. If I wanted, I could pay an extra $50 each way to guarantee my seat. Otherwise, I’d have to take the luck of the draw the day of the flight, which left me wondering whether the flight was overbooked.
In my case, I don’t know which impulse is stronger: bristling at and consequently resisting a hard sell or being a tightwad. Bottom line: I didn’t spend the money for the guaranteed seat. I may kick myself later, but it won’t be anywhere as hard as the airlines have kicked us in the last few years. And because of that, I’m taking a pound sterling on my next Ryanair flight.
–Catharine Hamm, Travel editor
[Illustration: Diane Bigda/for the Times]
20 Comments on “On the Spot: Airline fees are getting out of control”
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April 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Talk about fees, my recent experience with United was horrible. $75 to use my mileage + $15 for checking 1 bag + $9 for a lousy turkey wrap. My wife also used her miles so it cost just under $200 for a “free reward” flight. Then on the return flight one of our bags weighed in at 54 lbs. 4 pounds over the limit would cost us another $125 but the gate agents stood by while we shifted 4 lbs. of items from one bag to an underweight bag. What is entirely moronic is that we still had the same total net weight going on to the plane it was just spread out into two bags. The gate agents not only delayed us but the people behind us in line. If the total weight of both bags is under 100 lbs. they should be more reasonable and just let the bags go without any delay. United is penny wise and pound foolish.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
really funny …!
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I fly Southwest domestically for some very simple reasons: price, customer service, simplicity and reliability. They really do take care of the customer. The rest of the domestic airlines are trash and not worthy of my money. Plain and simple. Peace
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
100 lbs is an incredible amount of stuff. Please see paragraph re. light travelers subsidizing others. I rarely carry more than 15-20 lbs on a flight.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Yeah, but they need to make their fees work both ways! When they charge for a second charged bag, why don’t they give a credit for no checked bag? When they charge for a ticket change, why not a credit for when they make a change?
April 24th, 2009 at 1:58 am
I have missed the regulated airlines a lot. Not once can I recall a good moment flying since deregulation.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:35 am
Economy plus is a “premium cabin”. It costs more to sit there, and it costs even more to sit farther forward in the first/business class seating.
Although I’m generally understanding of complaints that the airlines are gouging & squeezing customers (there’s way too much of that going on), this is not an example of “squeezing”. The customer elected to sit in a premium cabin and — like everyone else — must pay the fare.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:31 am
In regards to Craigs comment..United check in agents are keeping each bag at 50lbs or less because of us rampers who have to load them in the aircraft. Far easier for us to load 2 bags at 50lbs than one at 30lbs and one at 60lbs. These bags have to be lifted over our heads to stack them in the aircraft, and for an almost 50 year old woman, not an easy feat. The 50lb rule is to avoid injury for baggage handlers. Not so moronic if you stop to consider the big picture.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:09 am
I recently booked an international flight with Delta and wanted to use my miles to upgrade (or lose them). In order to do this I had to pay an extra $1000 for an “upgradable” ticket. They confirmed the international leg (NY to Venice) but put me on a waitlist for the domestic leg (LA to NY). This is a ticket purchased 8 months out and showed only 4 seats reserved in business class at that time. Ten days prior to departure my appendix burst and I was in hospital for 4 days. With a Dr’s note upon checking in early I explained my plight and was told there were 12 seats still available. Of course did not get the upgrade, but entire miles were deducted from my account, plus paying extra for a partial upgrade. I guess I should be lucky that I at least got half of the trip I paid for!
April 24th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I have no sympathy whatsoever with Craig’s dilemma. He overpacked his bag and wants to blame others for his error. Not only that, he expects airline’s staff to bend their policy to suit him. Just do the right thing in the first place and stop complaining.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Agreed, Southwest is the best domestic airline these days.
2 bags free, a 3rd $25. No change fees. Efficient and on time. And one of the best safety records in the business. No I don’t work for Southwest!
April 24th, 2009 at 11:06 am
These fees make it a pain in the ass to comparison shop. That’s my biggest gripe. Fees should be incorporated in the quoting process! (i.e. asking how many bags along with to where and what date.)
My other gripe is all the extra stuff which is going into the cabins nowadays because people aren’t checking luggage. That has to be a safety and security risk and is a real comfort issue, having to store all this stuff under the chair in front of me because the overhead compartments are full.
Airline miles are almost useless now (except flight credits from SWA, which are awesome), but that slide has been happening for a long long time.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I was on a Southwest flight 2 weeks ago and the flight attendant announced that there are now FAA regs. prohibiting us from putting items in the seat-back pocket in front of us before take-off - is this true?!?
Also, I travel Delta quite a bit, and am now Gold in its Medallion frequent flyer program and I get a lot of great perks - no fees for bags up to 75 lbs., frequent upgrades to 1st class; excellent choices in seating assignments, fabulous customer service. Delta is generally a very pleasant travel experience for me.
For all the traveling I do, I have never been bumped, never had my luggage lost, rarely have been trapped on the tarmac, rarely been treated badly by an airlines.
Of course, I stopped flying United years ago… ;-)
April 24th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Southwest is by far the best airline, and their reward system is top-notch. Just 16 credits needed for a free flight, and bonus opportunities everywhere to get your points. I’ve been with them for just over a year and have already racked up 3 free flights, to use anytime I want, and I don’t even fly all that much!
April 24th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Ryan Air in the UK was mulling over charging $ to use the restroom. That doesn’t bother me so much as how good the airlines are at hiding these fees and taxes until AFTER you’ve booked the flight. Suddenly that $450 roundtrip ticket has turned into a $600+ ticket by the time you get home.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
One fee that I particularly disapprove of is the fee for the first checked bag. It is significantly more difficult for women to meet the liquids requirement for carry on items especially if they are traveling for business where primping is a requirement not an option.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I would love it if the airlines charged to use the restroom. Please make it $10, not $1.
As one who often gets stuck in the back of the plane to get an aisle seat, I am sick and tired of having someone’s rear end 6 inches from my face as they line up for the bathroom. As soon as the seatbelt sign is off! Can’t these people remember to go before they get on the plane?????
April 24th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Another proposal that is under consideration by Ryanair is making fat (excuse me, “overweight”) people pay more for their seats i.e. if they can’t fit comfortably into a seat they must either buy two or upgrade to a larger seat.
What a great idea! We normal-size folk have been subsidizing the fatties for years, about time they paid their fair share.
More weight = more fare, simple!
April 26th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I’m wondering how tall Professor Hoffer is. He would probably have a different view if he were over 6 feet. The crowding has gotten totally out of line on some airlines. I’m 6′3”, and I usually don’t have a problem with coach seats on Southwest and Alaska, but on a 6-hour flight to Boston on American my knees were scraping against the seat in front of me even before the person sitting there decided that she was entitled to lean all the way back.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:16 am
It’s amazing to me how no one ever seems to mention what airlines are really for. Transport. Want a sandwich? Want a bed? Need to bring your bike?Then be willing to pay for it .