The Lollipop Road

Posts Tagged ‘airline fees’

Over the past few months, we’ve gathered many new readers and embarked on many new adventures.  Since we post nearly daily, wading back through all of those posts for a new visitor can be quite overwhelming.  So, were putting together a list of our most popular posts according to visitors.  If you’ve missed any of these, you’ll want to read and share with your friends!  Here are the lucky 7…

• Travel Deals, especially family cruise deals are the most popular amongst readers
• Checked Baggage Fee Roundup By Airline – Updated March 1st!
• Cruise Line Babysitting Options Reviewed
• Live Blogging Onboard Norwegian Jewel
• Joshua Tree National Park – Family Friendly and Educational
• Visiting Yellowstone in Winter – A 3 Part Series
• Choosing a Family Friendly Cabin

If you have a topic that you’d like to see us cover, please leave a comment!

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Airline extras and fees have been a hot topic lately.  As airlines continue to figure out new ways to make money, priority and advanced seating assignment fees are becoming more popular.  Although Northwest Airlines recently dropped its Coach Choice program, that move was not a sign of the program’s unpopularity or lack of revenue generation, but rather a result of their merger with Delta and Delta’s inability to maintain the program on their web platform.

Fortunately, most major domestic carriers have to this point resisted charging a fee for advance seat assignments or premium seating.  However, advance premium seating is still typically reserved only for the most frequent flyers and highest fare paying passengers.  So, perhaps the opportunity to snag a premium seat for a little extra cash might not be a bad thing, so long as you can still assign any regular seat for free at the time of reservation.

Unfortunately, however, the low-cost carriers have begun to exploit the flying public, especially families.  Most families want or need to sit together, so not obtaining seat assignments in advance might cause significant problems on the day of departure.

The biggest offender to date has been Spirit Airlines.  As you can see below, you can’t obtain seat assignments until check-in (24 hours in advance of your flight) without paying a fee.  To add insult to injury, Spirit Airlines only allows a random seat to be generated for free at check-in, without the ability to change it.  This nuance makes them the least family friendly domestic airline in this roundup.

To their credit, Southwest Airlines has taken the extra step of singling out families by guaranteeing those traveling with young children a priority boarding spot between their “A” and ”B” boarding groups.  Of course, this means that they have eliminated priority boarding for families, so I’m not sure if this is really supposed to be an “enhancement”…you decide.

Keep in mind that most fees are per segment, not each way, so if you have a connecting flight, you’ll pay that fee twice.  The chart below outlines advance seat reservation fees as well as premium seat fees for domestic airlines as of February 25, 2010.   First or Business Class upgrades may also be available for an additional fee.

So, as you can see, not all airlines are created equal when it comes to fees.  Make sure that you take into account all fees when choosing the “least expensive” fare.  Check out our roundup on checked baggage fees and stay tuned for future reviews of even more fees being imposed by the airlines!

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Updated as of August 28, 2010

Fees for checked baggage have been around for awhile in the form of  charges for overweight bags or oversized items, but the recent rash of fees really began ramping up in 2008 when fuel prices soared and airlines were in desperate need of additional revenue.  It started with small fees for a second checked bag, then snowballed to where we are today, which is basically a fee for every checked item. These fees are increasing yet again!

Families have been hit hard by these fees as traveling with younger children requires more supplies and accessories and parent’s tend to check luggage rather than carry it on the airplane.  Purchasing the cheapest fare is no longer simple.  Some airlines charge heftier baggage fees than others, some have subtle nuances in their fee exemptions for certain items and still others allow exemptions for frequent flyers or travel in certain fare classes.  Figuring out what all of this means in terms of total cost is confusing to say the least, so we’ve put together a chart for the major domestic airlines that will help you in making your travel decisions. 

The following domestic baggage fees reflect the latest round of increases and assume that each bag is under 50 pounds and is not classified as oversized, except as noted.  All information is accurate as of August 28, 2010 and applies to tickets purchased on or after that date.  See the individual airline baggage policies for fee details with respect to reservations made prior to that date.  We applaud Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways for being the only two carriers that still offer at least one free checked bag.

CONSUMER ALERT – Spirit Airlines announced that as of August 1, 2010 (for reservations made on or after April 6, 2010) it will be increasing its fees for checked baggage as well as implementing a fee for carry-on baggage.  This, coupled with their unpopular seat assignment fees has left us no choice but to recommend that families not fly Spirit Airlines.

Note that lap infants generally are not provided with a baggage allowance, which can cause fees to add up quickly.  Strollers can always be checked at the gate and car seats may be carried onboard in most cases, so don’t feel pressured to check them at the counter.  Unfortunately, fees are one-way, so remember to double these if you’re flying round-trip.  Be aware that if you reserve a codeshare (ie the flight is actually operated by a different airline), the operating airline’s baggage fees will apply. 

Discounts for paying checked baggage fees in advance have become popular too, but be aware that if you change your mind or later get upgraded to a class of service that does not require a baggage fee, your pre-paid baggage fee is non-refundable.  Keep your bags under 50 pounds to avoid overweight penalties.  Remember that you can spread checked luggage amongst your traveling party, so if you have five bags for a family of four, you should pay 4-1st bag fees and 1-2nd bag fee.

Unfortunately, baggage fees are not the only fees impacting families.  With advance seat reservation fees becoming popular, additional charges for soft drinks on some airlines and now, fees for a blanket and pillow being imposed by American Airlines, choosing the cheapest airline is becoming more and more difficult.  In subsequent articles, we’ll review the host of other fees imposed by airlines that are impacting families.  In the meantime, be sure to consider checked baggage fees when looking for the cheapest flights – ignoring them could cost you dearly.

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