Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines, the Florida-based no-frills carrier that introduced fees for carry-on bags, has found another way to pass on its costs to its passengers. The airline quietly replaced its toll-free customer help numbers with regular toll-charge number. "Our new numbers are allowing us to keep our costs low, which we in turn continue to pass along to our customers by way of the ultra-low fares they have come to know and love," said airline spokeswoman Misty Pinson. Quiz: Test your knowledge about airport security The Spirit phone numbers all have 801 area codes, which corresponds to an area near Salt Lake City.

The cost of flying might be going up, but this time it's not the airlines raising prices. The Obama administration has proposed raising the taxes on air travel by about $14 per flight, a move airlines strongly oppose. Higher taxes are needed to help reduce the deficit, pay for improvements at the nation's airports and add thousands of new immigration and customs officers to reduce wait times to process foreign visitors, the administration says. Airlines say higher taxes will backfire and hurt the economy.

The cost of flying might be going up, but this time it's not the airlines raising prices. The Obama administration has proposed raising the taxes on air travel by about $14 per flight, a move airlines strongly oppose. Higher taxes are needed to help reduce the deficit, pay for improvements at the nation's airports and add thousands of new immigration and customs officers to reduce wait times to process foreign visitors, the administration says. Airlines say higher taxes will backfire and hurt the economy.

Budget cuts won't force the closure of air traffic control towers during overnight shifts, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. But the federal agency said it is still uncertain whether it will be forced this summer to close towers operated by contractors at 149 small and medium-size airports, including several in Southern California. Budget cuts called for by the federal sequestration forced the FAA in April to furlough air traffic controllers for one day every two weeks.

Florida-based Spirit Airline has come under harsh criticism in the last month for its penny-pinching ways, but the carrier continues to expand its network and post sizable profits. Passenger rights groups cried foul last week when Spirit announced that starting Nov. 6 the cost to bring a carry-on bag on a flight will be $100 when paid at the gate - more than double the current $45 fee. Spirit also raised the fees for passengers who pay for carry-on bags online or at airport kiosks.

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...

In the first six months of 2012, the nation's largest airlines collected more than $1.7 billion in fees to check baggage. One way to avoid such fees is to use an airline such as Southwest Airlines, which doesn't charge for the first two bags. Another way is more questionable. Eric Rose, a business consultant who travels frequently, came across the second method on a recent flight on Virgin America. He saw several passengers drag bags that were too big for overhead bins to the gate, only to have the gate attendant send the bags to the cargo hold without charging a baggage-check fee. The move saved the passengers $25 per bag. Rose pointed out the loophole in an email to Virgin America's chief executive, David Cush.

The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Florida-based Spirit Airlines $100,000 Friday for failing to appropriately keep track of and respond to complaints about its treatment of passengers with disabilities. Under federal rules, airlines must sort, categorize and respond in writing to all complaints regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. “Our rules on how airlines handle disability-related complaints are designed to help us ensure that passengers with disabilities are treated fairly when they fly,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Ever since Spirit Airlines Inc. announced this month that it would add a fee of up to $45 per carry-on bag, the airline's chief executive, Ben Baldanza, has been trying to quell the resulting outrage. He went so far as to cram himself into an overhead compartment to argue that with fewer carry-on bags, the boarding process would move faster and the overhead bins would be less cluttered. The result, he said in the video of his stunt: "Everybody wins." It didn't work. Seven U.S. senators have backed proposed legislation concerning the Florida-based airline's carry-on fee. "We are going from the sublime to the ridiculous with airlines," Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.

Spirit Airlines Inc., the low-cost carrier based in Miramar, Fla., announced Tuesday that it would charge passengers as much as $45 for each piece of carry-on luggage. The move is a departure from other airlines that have added or increased fees to check luggage into the cargo bay. Most airlines have added such fees in the last two years to help make up for declining demand. Airline watchdog groups wonder whether the move by Spirit will prompt other airlines to do the same. "The real question is will other airlines follow, and will this actually be good for air travel?"

Spirit Airlines, the Florida-based no-frills carrier that introduced fees for carry-on bags, has found another way to pass on its costs to its passengers. The airline quietly replaced its toll-free customer help numbers with regular toll-charge number. "Our new numbers are allowing us to keep our costs low, which we in turn continue to pass along to our customers by way of the ultra-low fares they have come to know and love," said airline spokeswoman Misty Pinson. Quiz: Test your knowledge about airport security The Spirit phone numbers all have 801 area codes, which corresponds to an area near Salt Lake City.

Airline travel fees - including charges to check a bag and to board early - have become so prevalent that travelers almost need an advanced degree in mathematics to calculate overall trip costs. Last year at least 36 airline fees increased, and 16 others were redefined, bundled or unbundled with other services, according to a recent study by the consumer travel website Travelnerd. One bright spot in the Travelnerd study of 14 U.S. airlines is that most fee increases were only $5 to $10 each.

Domestic airfares have been climbing steadily since 2009, and there was no letup last year. But the uptick in ticket prices was not as steep as in the last few years. Domestic airfares increased 4.2% in 2012 compared with the previous year to an average of $427 per ticket, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., an Arlington, Va., company that completes the financial transactions between 16,000 travel agents and 187 airlines. The good news is that the fare increases have been shrinking.

Overall domestic air travel in the U.S. dropped slightly in October, partly because of the closure of several East Coast airports during the onslaught of Superstorm Sandy. The analysis of the impact of the storm on the airline industry came in a report Thursday by the International Air Transport Assn., a trade group for the world's largest airlines. The group had previously estimated that the world's airlines lost up to $500 million in revenue because of the cancellation of thousands of flights during the storm in late October and early November.

Question: Several readers have asked for information about what to do when a relative who plans to make an airline trip dies before the trip can be taken. Does nonrefundable mean nonrefundable? Answer: When airlines say "nonrefundable fare," they usually mean it. Except when they don't. Don't get excited. This doesn't mean you'll get your money back if, say, you change your mind about going to (fill-in-the-blank place) because you're worried about (fill-in-the-blank anxiety-inducing issue)

Super storm Sandy has led to the cancellation of about 19,500 flights since Saturday but cancellations are on the decline and two key East Coast airports reopened Wednesday. John F. Kennedy International in New York and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey reopened Wednesday for limited service, but La Guardia International Airport in New York remains closed because of flooding. It remains unclear when La Guardia will reopen and airline officials urged passengers to check on their flight status by phone or online before heading for an airport.

Have an unexpected carry-on you need to bring on your flight? If you're traveling with Spirit Airlines Inc., it'll cost you $100. On Thursday, visitors to company's website found that fees for baggage and other consumer services are going to jump on Nov. 6 -- nearly across the board . Carry-on bag fees at the gate will cost travelers $100 -- more than double the $45 they pay now. Carry-ons noted during an online reservation will cost $35,...

Spirit Airlines, the air carrier that recently announced a $45 fee for carry-on bags, has launched another change that may not sit well with passengers. The Florida carrier's latest money-saving idea is seats that passengers cannot adjust. The airline calls them "pre-reclined" seats, meaning they are already reclined about 3 inches. Want to lean back to take a nap or sit up to eat a snack? Sorry, these seats won't budge. The airline says the slim new leather seats, built by Brice Seating in Pacoima, are 30% lighter, cutting down on fuel costs and offering 20% more space under the seat.

  Airline cancellations continued to mount, with a few carriers beginning to cancel flights scheduled for Thursday. Super storm Sandy is now blamed for the cancellation of 18,100 flights, stretching from Saturday to Wednesday, according to the travel monitoring site, Flightaware.com. The canceled flights were primarily to and from storm-ravaged cities along the East Coast. About 50 or so flights were already canceled for Thursday. The website Flightstats.com has animated the effects of the storm on flights in an online video, shown above.