Baggage Fees

Spirit Airlines , the first carrier to impose fees for carry-on bags, starting in November will charge as much as $100 per bag for passengers who bring luggage to stow in the overhead bin.  It currently costs $45 if you show up at the gate with a carry-on bag. That figure will rise to $100 on Nov. 6, according to baggage fees listed on the airline's website.  Spirit has a dizzying menu of bag fees that are tied to the...

The nonprofit Consumer Travel Alliance is urging federal officials to force airlines to be more transparent about their fees wherever they sell airline tickets. The action comes on the heels of budget carrier Spirit Airline 's recent announcement that come November it would increase baggage fees. Among the new prices: a $100 charge for a carry-on bag if you check it at the gate. The alliance called Spirit's fee frenzy "a wake-up call" for the Department of Transportation.

It's easier to shop for airfares now that airlines and online travel companies are required to include taxes, nonoptional fees and fuel charges in posted ticket prices. But what's the best way to factor in fees such as checked bags, carry-on bags, second checked bags, seat assignments, change fees and others? Enter NerdWallet . The online personal finance site best known for its credit card comparisons launched a new tool Wednesday that helps travelers find and compare airline fees on U.S. carriers.

Spirit Airlines , the first carrier to impose fees for carry-on bags, starting in November will charge as much as $100 per bag for passengers who bring luggage to stow in the overhead bin.  It currently costs $45 if you show up at the gate with a carry-on bag. That figure will rise to $100 on Nov. 6, according to baggage fees listed on the airline's website.  Spirit has a dizzying menu of bag fees that are tied to the...

The announcements this week that three of the country's largest airlines are again increasing baggage fees came as bad news for airline passengers, who must already pay for such extras as blankets, pillows and snacks. But the higher fees are good news to Zeke Adkins, co-founder of Luggage Forward, a Boston business that ships luggage door-to-door for travelers who want to avoid the hassles of checking bags at the airport. "Every time the airlines increase their fees, it translates into increased bookings for us," he said.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how an airline may treat you in advance? TripAdvisor thinks so. On Wednesday, the travel website, best known for its user reviews of hotels, added user reviews to its flight search engine, TripAdvisor Flights . Jami Counter, senior director of TripAdvisor Flights, said the website has so far collected more than 3,500 airline ratings from travelers, "and we expect it to grow quickly.” Airlines are rated from 1 to 5 "stars" and also by the percentage of travelers who recommend them.

Baggage scofflaws and their scoffers Regarding "Bag-Fee Dodger" [On the Spot, March 27] by Catharine Hamm: My wife and I recently returned from a 15-day cruise. We flew to Miami, Miami to Rio de Janeiro, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Dallas, and Dallas to LAX, all on American. The American Airlines representative's quote in the article about gate agents asking passengers to check excess items is nonsense. At no time was the carry-on bag rule enforced. I saw people carrying oversized bags, two or three bags plus a laptop computer and musical instruments and tennis rackets into the cabin as carry-on luggage.

Question: I traveled out of San Francisco this summer. My flight was supposed to take me to Chicago, where I would connect to my flight to Munich, but it was delayed, so a United agent booked me on a nonstop Lufthansa flight instead. My two children and I had two bags each. I have United elite status so there was no bag fee, but when we checked into Lufthansa, we were told we would have to pay for the second bag. Suddenly, I had $210 in bag fees. I can't seem to get United to refund this.

The nation's largest airlines collected $3.4 billion in fees charged to passengers for checking luggage last year, a 24% increase over 2009, according to new federal data released Monday. The baggage fees are not the only extra revenue collected by airlines. The airlines last year also took in $2.3 billion in fees charged to passengers to change reservations, down about 3% from the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The agency has yet to calculate other miscellaneous airline revenue for 2010, including charges for in-flight food and beverages, and fees to board early, to access in-flight Wi-Fi services and to transport pets, among other charges.

As a frequent flier, I have long wondered about the legality of charging baggage fees for those of us who are disabled and can't use the overhead bins. I have a bad shoulder, and flight attendants will not assist me. It seems to me that airlines should not charge a fee for bags for people who are disabled. Does the Americans With Disabilities Act apply? Audray Johnson Riverside Answer: The Air Carrier Access Act, a cousin to the Americans With Disabilities Act, applies.

The results are in from our wholly unscientific weekend survey , and though they don't provide much of a clue as to the presidential race, they at least show whom voters trust to feel their iPhone pain. Close to 550 people answered at least part of the grueling 15-question survey, and nearly 400 made it all the way through. (Note to self: limit next survey to six questions.) The survey asked voters which candidate was most likely to share certain concerns or take certain actions on the economy or world affairs.

It's easier to shop for airfares now that airlines and online travel companies are required to include taxes, nonoptional fees and fuel charges in posted ticket prices. But what's the best way to factor in fees such as checked bags, carry-on bags, second checked bags, seat assignments, change fees and others? Enter NerdWallet . The online personal finance site best known for its credit card comparisons launched a new tool Wednesday that helps travelers find and compare airline fees on U.S. carriers.

The article "Before You Take Off" by Catharine Hamm [Jan. 29], reminded me of a trip I took last year. It's an example of a driving vacation that the 80% to 90% of Californians she mentioned as car trippers might appreciate: It was five days long, leaving from Whittier and going to Bryce Canyon in Utah. I stayed at Zion the first night. The ranger said the campground was full, but I found an empty site. After breakfast the next morning outside the park, I drove through fantastic scenery toward Bryce.

If airfares seem a little higher than usual, it's not because the airlines have raised their prices. The Department of Transportation's long-awaited new rules on what airlines can advertise as posted ticket prices go into effect Thursday. I think of it as the "no surprises" rule. The biggest change: Published airfares (online, on billboards, in print, over the phone) must include all taxes and fees. The idea is that consumers looking for the lowest airfare won't be misled by super-low prices that increase exponentially after fees and taxes are added on. The rule applies to airlines, ticket agents and online travel booking sites like Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Kayak, however, already publishes the total cost of airfares on its site.

After years of rebuffing health concerns over airport scanners, the Transportation Security Administration plans to conduct new tests on the potential radiation exposure from the machines at more than 100 airports nationwide. But the TSA does not plan to retest the machines or passengers. Instead, the agency plans to test its airport security officers to see if they are being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while working with the scanners. News of the test leaked out after the TSA issued a request last month to government vendors to provide wearable, personal dosimeters, devices that measure exposure to radiation.

Brent Hopkins, a Michigan marketing manager, was so annoyed that a carry-on suitcase cost him $90 in baggage fees on Sprit Airlines that he launched a business to help other passengers sidestep the charges. Florida-based Spirit Airlines introduced in 2010 a fee of up to $45 for carry-on luggage that cannot fit in the space under the seats. The fee met with outrage, including threats from several lawmakers to impose a special tax on revenue collected from such fees. Instead of fuming, Hopkins created CarryOn Free, an online company that manufactures suitcases that fit the exact dimensions of the space under the Spirit seats.

Many of the nation's largest airlines are giving military personnel on official travel a pass on expensive baggage fees. The fees can be as high as $300 for a heavy duffel stuffed with body armor. Faced with criticism from veterans groups and others that the fees are a financial burden, several airlines have announced exceptions for active service members. They include AirTran Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.

Friday was a victory for airline passengers, but Monday? Not so much.  The Department of Transportation on Friday stood firm on the effective date of new rules (Rules II, in rule-making shorthand) that will require airlines to give passengers a full accounting of their baggage fees. In its explanation of that denial, the DOT noted that airlines and others had said technical issues would make it impossible for them to meet the Jan. 24 deadline; carriers and others requested a one-year extension.

Question: I traveled out of San Francisco this summer. My flight was supposed to take me to Chicago, where I would connect to my flight to Munich, but it was delayed, so a United agent booked me on a nonstop Lufthansa flight instead. My two children and I had two bags each. I have United elite status so there was no bag fee, but when we checked into Lufthansa, we were told we would have to pay for the second bag. Suddenly, I had $210 in bag fees. I can't seem to get United to refund this.