More nickel-and-dime fees to fly? Good

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Fees for meals, headsets and curbside check-in are just the beginning of the ways airlines will be nickel-and-diming us, travel pundits say.

Terry Trippler, resident travel expert at CheapSeats.com, predicts we'll see more airlines charging for all of the following:

• Advanced seat assignment

• Assignment of "preferred" seats (emergency row, bulkhead, aisle)

• Checked baggage

• Carry-on baggage

• Pillows and blankets

• Snacks

• Beverages

Many of these fees are already a reality on some carriers. United Airlines charges $25 to $100 extra for exit-row seats, while Air Canada demands $2 for a pillow-and-blanket kit. American Eagle, an American Airlines regional carrier, is experimenting with $1 cups of soda pop, while Northwest charges $1 for a bag of nuts. Many airlines are getting stricter about weight limits on checked baggage, charging $25 to $100 for luggage over 50 pounds.

That's on top of the $1 to $2 most major airlines now assess for curbside check-in, the $5 to $10 fee for making reservations on the phone or at the counter rather than online, the $3 to $5 for alcoholic beverages and the $5 to $10 for meals -- if those are available at all.

In a bit, I'll discuss ways to avoid many of these fees. But if you're expecting me to decry the trend, prepare for disappointment. Some of these charges make a lot of sense.

Why shouldn't you pay for what you want?

In a world where four of the six largest U.S. carriers have filed for bankruptcy, the travel experience inevitably will change. High fuel costs and brutal competition mean that airlines, to survive, have to figure out a way to make a profit from travelers who insist on rock-bottom fares. Imposing some fees could help people tailor their flights so that those who want amenities get them and those who don't care can get the cheapest flights.

For example:

Carry-ons. The situation on most of today's crowded airplanes is absolutely nuts. Boarding takes too long, the overhead bins bulge, and I've been on too many flights in the past year where some dimwit tried to get an obviously oversized bag past the harried gate agent.

We've got to weed the herd. Banning carry-ons isn't the answer, but charging for them is. Some of us are more than willing to cough up $20 a flight to keep from spending half our lives at the baggage carousel, staring at other people's luggage or a conveyor belt that doesn't move for 30 minutes.

And since we're likely to be frequent fliers, we're also more likely to know the protocol for getting our bags through security swiftly and the importance of stepping out of the airplane aisle when we find our seat so that other passengers can move past us.

So let us pay. Let the budget travelers check their bags. And everybody will get on board faster.

Seat assignment. Again, price is all that matters to some fliers. So why should they accidentally wind up with the best seats?

For that matter, why should I, at 5-feet-7, get an exit-row seat when some poor 6-foot-5 dude is jackknifed into a seat in the back?

Let me pay for my aisle seat in the front. Let him pay for his exit-row seat. Let the ones who want to save money sit at the windows or (yikes) in the middle. Everybody gets what he or she really wants: either a decent price or a decent seat.

Amenities. It's better to have choice, even if you have to pay, than to have none at all. American, Delta and Northwest no longer have pillows on many flights, and many airlines have no food at all on some hops. (Woe to the infrequent flier who finds this out too late; I now bring an extra energy bar just in case the poor sap is seated next to me.)

A buck for a soda or a few bucks for a snack pack isn't unreasonable. Neither is a small charge for headsets or Air Canada's "comfort kits" (inflatable pillows with cloth covers and blankets), especially when you can take them with you for use on the next flight.

 1 | 2 | next >