If anyone is against the change inserted into the FAA Reauthorization bill, communicate that to your elected representatives before they vote on it. Also, encourage them to support the FAA in enforcing the current law and hold airlines accountable for hiding those fees. I know it feels like you can’t make a difference, but if enough voters engage, it will work.
What the point?! There is simply nothing the public can do about it!
As stated many, many times nobody cares Sadly even when you find the “ hidden fare” Your stuck It’s all about the money Hey did we ever get paid back on that $80 billion??
Its not just the airlines!! Look at the "hidden fees" added by A T & T to the monthly basic charges on my "plain old copper" land line in the last, and every, month. These are fixed amounts and do not include the local, state, and Federal tax charges which vary based on usage, and which also are not quoted in the basic bill. A T & T claims that some are "mandatory" charges imposed by the Federal Government but says others are not! So in other words, they have simply raised every bill from what they quoted!
Here is what it says on the bill:
"COST ASSESSMENT CHRG
AT&T charges you this monthly per line amount to recover its ongoing costs
incurred supporting the administration of local number portability, a government
program that enables customers to retain their telephone number when changing
service providers. This fee is not a tax or charge that the government requires
AT&T to collect from its customers.
CARRIER COST REC FEE
The Carrier Cost Recovery Fee helps recover costs associated with providing
state-to-state and international long distance service, including expenses for
national regulatory fees and programs, as well as connection and account
servicing charges.
No. Description Quantity
1. Federal Subscriber Line Charge 1 6.50
2. Federal Excise Tax 4.01
3. FL - State Communications Tax 3.27
4. FL - Local Communications Tax 7.89
5. Telecommunications Access System Act Surcharge 2.24
6. Emergency 911 Service .80
7. (Monthly Line Charge)
8. Federal Universal Service Fee 3.22
9. Carrier Cost Recovery Fee 08/02-09/01 2.24
If all the added non variable sales type taxes are added each month, why are they not in the primary quoted bill?
International flights are the worst offenders for hidden charges. It is instructive to see the breakdown of fares from the U.S. to an international destination, as opposed to the reverse fare from the same international destination to the same U.S. airport. The airlines add on a fee from the U.S. to the international destination that often doubles the fare. I corresponded with the Delta executive office about this discrepancy and received the following reply
"Delta assesses a carrier imposed surcharge to all flights originating in the US going to Europe. We are unable to disclose why, or how the carrier imposed surcharge is decided. "
In other words, Delta just tacks on a 100% surcharge to their flights and won't explain why. Delta is not alone. It is clear that they do this because they are not regulated in the United States to prevent this. I have in the past few years "repositioned" myself to fly from Canada or Mexico to Europe and have avoided these charges that way. But it is clear that there is not sufficient oversight in the U.S. to prevent this lack of transparency, and price gouging.
I have found that when I do the math, it's more or less a wash in price to just get a normal ticket that already includes a seat assignment and a carryon bag. In addition, I have found that there is often not much difference between the cost for refundable and non-refundable (if you are booking early enough). On the last few flights I booked, it was just around $35 (within US) and $50 more (international) to get a ticket that was refundable, and the refundable ticket comes with a checked bag as well.
The lobbyist, the politicians , will not cross that line . Listen it’s all about the money . Did we get paid back the $80 billion..lol. Nothing changes
Just FYI, another way airlines rip us off. Today I was in the process of booking a first class seat on Alaska from Seattle to Raleigh. A nonstop flight was listed as $570 while I was scrolling down the list of flights and prices, the right before my eyes, the nonstop flight fare increased to $649. I was stunned. I got on the chat and ultimately was told the prices can change at any time before you complete the purchase. I've been an Alaska member for decades and am saddened by the increasing disregard for passengers, which started when they merged with Virgin.
Look, if the airlines expect us to pay for checked luggage then they need to treat it with some care. I know they have thousands of bags they have to load and unload, but at least do it with care. I was flying from Orlando back to Newark on United. I had a metal baggage tag that D23 (Disney Fan Club) gave me. When I got it at Newark, it was broken, bent out of shape, and the paper tag inside was gone.
While I agree with much of what you wrote here, I disagree with some of your points. First, while I agree that Frontier’s carrier interface charge is outrageous and should be included in the base fare, and carry-on fees are unusual enough that they should be highlighted early in the process, I feel very differently about checked bags and seat reservations. The former are neither universally required – I usually fly without checked bags – nor costless to the airline. I think it is very reasonable that the customer who wants to fly somewhere without a checked bag should pay less than the customer who wants to fly there, but also give their bag to the airline, have it sent through an expensive baggage system and manually loaded and unloaded onto the airplane (often twice, for a connecting pax.) And what if they don’t do it right? Furthermore, it is now a misnomer to call checked bag fees as “hidden”, since they have been widely discussed and complained about for about 20 years now.
Second, it is not fair to refer to seat reservations as necessary and then recommend WN as the most transparent, when they don’t even offer seat reservations. I think the AA model is superior, in which there are some seats available for free booking and other (better) seats available at a clearly-stated price.
How airlines are hiding the cost of travel
If anyone is against the change inserted into the FAA Reauthorization bill, communicate that to your elected representatives before they vote on it. Also, encourage them to support the FAA in enforcing the current law and hold airlines accountable for hiding those fees. I know it feels like you can’t make a difference, but if enough voters engage, it will work.
What the point?! There is simply nothing the public can do about it!
As stated many, many times nobody cares Sadly even when you find the “ hidden fare” Your stuck It’s all about the money Hey did we ever get paid back on that $80 billion??
Its not just the airlines!! Look at the "hidden fees" added by A T & T to the monthly basic charges on my "plain old copper" land line in the last, and every, month. These are fixed amounts and do not include the local, state, and Federal tax charges which vary based on usage, and which also are not quoted in the basic bill. A T & T claims that some are "mandatory" charges imposed by the Federal Government but says others are not! So in other words, they have simply raised every bill from what they quoted!
Here is what it says on the bill:
"COST ASSESSMENT CHRG
AT&T charges you this monthly per line amount to recover its ongoing costs
incurred supporting the administration of local number portability, a government
program that enables customers to retain their telephone number when changing
service providers. This fee is not a tax or charge that the government requires
AT&T to collect from its customers.
CARRIER COST REC FEE
The Carrier Cost Recovery Fee helps recover costs associated with providing
state-to-state and international long distance service, including expenses for
national regulatory fees and programs, as well as connection and account
servicing charges.
No. Description Quantity
1. Federal Subscriber Line Charge 1 6.50
2. Federal Excise Tax 4.01
3. FL - State Communications Tax 3.27
4. FL - Local Communications Tax 7.89
5. Telecommunications Access System Act Surcharge 2.24
6. Emergency 911 Service .80
7. (Monthly Line Charge)
8. Federal Universal Service Fee 3.22
9. Carrier Cost Recovery Fee 08/02-09/01 2.24
If all the added non variable sales type taxes are added each month, why are they not in the primary quoted bill?
No. Description Quantity
2. Federal Excise Tax 4.01
3. FL - State Communications Tax 3.27
4. FL - Local Communications Tax 7.89
5. Telecommunications Access 2 .24
System Act Surcharge
6. Emergency 911 Service .80
Total Government Fees and Taxes 16.21
International flights are the worst offenders for hidden charges. It is instructive to see the breakdown of fares from the U.S. to an international destination, as opposed to the reverse fare from the same international destination to the same U.S. airport. The airlines add on a fee from the U.S. to the international destination that often doubles the fare. I corresponded with the Delta executive office about this discrepancy and received the following reply
"Delta assesses a carrier imposed surcharge to all flights originating in the US going to Europe. We are unable to disclose why, or how the carrier imposed surcharge is decided. "
In other words, Delta just tacks on a 100% surcharge to their flights and won't explain why. Delta is not alone. It is clear that they do this because they are not regulated in the United States to prevent this. I have in the past few years "repositioned" myself to fly from Canada or Mexico to Europe and have avoided these charges that way. But it is clear that there is not sufficient oversight in the U.S. to prevent this lack of transparency, and price gouging.
I have found that when I do the math, it's more or less a wash in price to just get a normal ticket that already includes a seat assignment and a carryon bag. In addition, I have found that there is often not much difference between the cost for refundable and non-refundable (if you are booking early enough). On the last few flights I booked, it was just around $35 (within US) and $50 more (international) to get a ticket that was refundable, and the refundable ticket comes with a checked bag as well.
Thank you for this information. We fly Southwest and haven’t used another airline for years. Guess we will continue to fly a full disclosure airline.
Nope… Not going to happen!
The lobbyist, the politicians , will not cross that line . Listen it’s all about the money . Did we get paid back the $80 billion..lol. Nothing changes
Are the fees hidden if booked through OTA such as Expedia?
“But if you're not a frequent flyer, avoid these programs, as they can be habit-forming and lead to unwise purchases.”
Sure, and going to the grocery store is also unwise because they sell cigarettes and wine and fatty foods.
I don’t know why you hate loyalty programs so much but it borders on lunacy.
Just FYI, another way airlines rip us off. Today I was in the process of booking a first class seat on Alaska from Seattle to Raleigh. A nonstop flight was listed as $570 while I was scrolling down the list of flights and prices, the right before my eyes, the nonstop flight fare increased to $649. I was stunned. I got on the chat and ultimately was told the prices can change at any time before you complete the purchase. I've been an Alaska member for decades and am saddened by the increasing disregard for passengers, which started when they merged with Virgin.
Look, if the airlines expect us to pay for checked luggage then they need to treat it with some care. I know they have thousands of bags they have to load and unload, but at least do it with care. I was flying from Orlando back to Newark on United. I had a metal baggage tag that D23 (Disney Fan Club) gave me. When I got it at Newark, it was broken, bent out of shape, and the paper tag inside was gone.
While I agree with much of what you wrote here, I disagree with some of your points. First, while I agree that Frontier’s carrier interface charge is outrageous and should be included in the base fare, and carry-on fees are unusual enough that they should be highlighted early in the process, I feel very differently about checked bags and seat reservations. The former are neither universally required – I usually fly without checked bags – nor costless to the airline. I think it is very reasonable that the customer who wants to fly somewhere without a checked bag should pay less than the customer who wants to fly there, but also give their bag to the airline, have it sent through an expensive baggage system and manually loaded and unloaded onto the airplane (often twice, for a connecting pax.) And what if they don’t do it right? Furthermore, it is now a misnomer to call checked bag fees as “hidden”, since they have been widely discussed and complained about for about 20 years now.
Second, it is not fair to refer to seat reservations as necessary and then recommend WN as the most transparent, when they don’t even offer seat reservations. I think the AA model is superior, in which there are some seats available for free booking and other (better) seats available at a clearly-stated price.
That is my take.
And the American taxpayer will never see it !!
See previous comment
Lobbyist, Politicaltions