"They're just grasping at straws," Mann said. "The industry has to fundamentally reprice its services."
Mann said the industry needs to cut the number of available seats by 20 percent before airlines will have the power to boost fares and keep up with the price of fuel.
US Airways said free drinks would continue to be served to unaccompanied minors and passengers in first class on US Airways Shuttle and on trans-Atlantic flights.
Passengers who suffer from dehydration or other medical issues will be served complimentary bottled water at the flight attendant's discretion, US Airways spokesman Durant said. When weather delays hold a plane on the tarmac for hours, passengers also will be given free beverages, he said.
Kate Hanni, who heads a grass-roots group called the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, said the new US Airways fees went too far and could even jeopardize the health of its passengers. "All of the airlines are unbundling to the point where it's unsafe," Hanni said. "Are they going to charge for oxygen when the masks fall?"
laura.mccandlish@baltsun.com
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
