What will they think of next?
Pay toilets? A seat belt fee?
Airlines, strapped by spiking fuel prices, a weakened economy and softening demand, are on the prowl for revenue, and coming up with an array of ways to extract it from passengers' pockets. And that's on top of the steady fare increases in the form of fuel surcharges that they've slapped on this year.
Checking the golf clubs in addition to a bag? Ca-ching. Like that little bit of extra leg room in the emergency exit row? Ca-ching. Taking your kitty along? Ca-ching. Those new charges and fees have popped up or increased as the economic vise has tightened.
Charging $5 here and $20 there for various amenities can add up to millions at a time when many airlines are hemorrhaging money, with the legacy carriers collectively losing over $1 billion in the first quarter.
Be prepared: We could see even more extra charges down the road, said Jay Ellenby, president of Safe Harbors Travel Group in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood. Charging for checking even one bag or for nonalcoholic beverages is no longer unimaginable, he said.
"What I'm hearing from customers is that they're willing to pay a few dollars more for an aisle seat and window seat; they're willing to pay for extra baggage," Ellenby said. "There is a price point that airlines realize hasn't been hit yet. They can get away with it."
Leisure travelers, particularly those traveling with lots of luggage and family members in tow, may feel particularly hard hit. You now pay more to travel with those fishing rods and skis.
The major legacy airlines recently enacted $25 charges to check a second bag to offset creeping fuel costs. Discounter AirTran Airways, which now charges $10 to check a second bag, seems like a relative bargain.
Southwest Airlines started the bag-checking fee frenzy in January, but the low-fare behemoth only starts charging with the third bag ($25).
"Most of these costs are really targeted at the leisure traveler," said Kevin Mitchell, founder of the Business Travel Coalition. "If you're going to fly somewhere with a couple of kids and you're going to get whacked a couple hundred bucks for extra baggage, that could affect your decision."
The good news is that low-cost Southwest and AirTran are the dominant carriers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and while they too are increasing fees, they are generally less than those of the legacy airlines.
