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| Airlines are making bags of money off us. |
Just came across a new report from Standard & Poor's showing once again how airlines are running off with bags of our money.
According to a Standard & Poor's study released this week, U.S. airlines collected $3.5 billion in extra bag fees from consumers last year - a 24 per cent increase over 2009! Most U.S. airlines charge a $50 fee per bag now.
Add that to the "fuel surcharges and air taxes" airlines are allowed to pass along to passengers without ever having to justify the amounts - in many cases, air taxes and fuel surcharge, which amounted to over $21 billion in total last year, account for more than the ticket - and you can see why airlines are doing very well these days despite their claims to the contrary.
"If it weren't for the fees, the airlines would most likely be losing money," rationalized Jim Corridore, airline analyst with Standard & Poor's.
According to the Standard & Poor's survey, Delta generated the most revenue from bag fees — $952 million — followed by the combined United and Continental at nearly $655 million. American collected $580 million and US Airways $513 million.
To be fair to the airlines, though, I should point out that the cost of jet fuel rose 37 per cent over the same period last year.
And, according one airline analyst, passengers have no one to blame but themselves for all this
"Unfortunately, for the airlines when they try to roll $50 into the ticket prices, people stop buying tickets," said Rick Seaney CEO of FareCompare.com.
As an airline passenger, these extra fees make me so sick I just want to grab a barf bag!
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