Transportation
Airline fee charts Airline fee charts Here we list some of the various fees that airlines use to line their coffers while they continue to keep many airfares ridiculously low. These fees are subject to change and you should always contact the airline directly before planning a trip to be absolutely certain what they'll be charging you. We do our best to keep these charts up to date. Frequent Flyer Fees
As usual, the airline with the fewest fees in this regard is Southwest. Southwest issues frequent flyer awards as soon as you earn them and you have up to a year to use the award. If an award has expired, you can pay $50 to extend its validity up to one additional year as long as the award isn't more than one year past its original validity. In addition to the fees listed here, you can expect to pay taxes, passenger facility charges, and the September 11 security fee, along with other government imposed surcharges. And if you're flying internationally with a child age 2 or under, even if it's sitting in your lap, you may be hit with a charge of 10% of your fare plus even fuel surcharges, and that's even if you're traveling on a "free" ticket (on a business class ticket to Australia, that might make you think twice about flying "free"). Fees listed were accurate at time of posting but can change at any moment, and probably will. Keep in mind, too, that depending on your frequent flyer membership level, some of these fees may not apply to you, or they may be lower than shown. Updated June 4, 2009.
Checked Bag Fees Here we list, airline by airline, fees for checked bags on major US airlines. These fees are for domestic economy class travel (which in some cases includes Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Canada) only and may be higher on international flights. There are all kinds of exceptions to these fees, especially for certain classes of frequent flyers and military personnel. These fees are cumulative and are double for round-trip travel. They are subject to change and were accurate to the best of our knowledge as of April 23, 2009. If you're a heavy packer, you'll want to fly with Airtran, Alaska, Frontier and Southwest, even if there's a cheaper fare on another ailrine.
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It used to be that free frequent flyer tickets were really free. But not anymore. Not only are airlines increasing the number of miles required, but they're constantly adding new fees for issuing tickets, changing them, not using them, requesting them on short notice, and flying confirmed same day stand by.