Don’t Forget About Airline Flight Fees and Surcharges
Many of us look at price as the bottom line when we book flights across the country. However, we may not realize that hundreds of dollars could be added onto our original ticket price in surcharges and fees by the time our flight is over. Cheap travel deals still exist, but Americans will perhaps have to make a few concessions when flying in 2010. When you’re looking for a cheap airline flight, there are many things to consider.
Many people take issue with the expense of airline tickets nowadays. One complaint is that “surcharges and taxes keep going up.” A few of these airline ticket fees are compulsory, whereas others are completely avoidable.
For example, you won’t be able to get out of many of the taxes on airport security, including the 9/11 Security Fee, the Passenger Facility Charges, the Federal Domestic Flight Segment Fee, the US International Arrival tax, the US Customs fee, the US International Departure tax, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection fee and the Immigration fee.
On the other hand, you can avoid a $10-20 surcharge to buy your airline flight over the phone with American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest and Jet Blue by purchasing a cheap airline ticket online instead. You can also take special care not to require a reservation change, which could charge you anywhere from $30 to $250. Pack light, as checked luggage surcharges range from $50-$100. You will also need to be more flexible in your seating preferences, now that airlines are charging $7 for an aisle or window seat or $20 to sit in an emergency exit row. Northwest now charges customers $25-$100 to redeem frequent flier miles, while several other airlines require that your miles be redeemed by phone (so they can get that $10-$20 surcharge).
According to CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg, there are several ways to avoid airline flight fees and surcharges. Packing lighter will save you a lot of stress. If that’s not possible, then you may want to consider finding a courier like UPS or FedEx to send your goods. If you’re sending an unaccompanied minor, try to book a nonstop flight (to avoid paying $25-$100 per connection). If you might need to change your flight time, learn the standby rules to avoid the $30-$100 ticket change fee. It’s important to remember that, despite these optional fees, flight fares have remained relatively consistent since the nineties. Many airlines are struggling just to stay afloat, given the increasingly high fuel costs. So the next time you bring that overweight bag, consider how much more it’s costing the airline carrier to fly it.
In the past, inexpensive travel and cheap airfare meant that you had to work around some travel restrictions. Sometimes you could only fly on certain days of the week, or you had to be on stand-by if you wanted a good deal. These days, fortunately, you can find inexpensive flight tickets for any day of the week.
Related posts:
- Commercial Airline Travel Is For The Birds Flying commercially continues to become increasingly more aggravating. Airlines continue to increase ticket prices and add additional charges. At the airport there are numerous delays,...
- Commercial Airline Travel Can Lead To Unhappy Travelers When you love to travel the one thing that can bring you down is the flight. Long lines, security check points, over crowed terminals and...
- A Few Simple Tips To Find The Best Student Discount Flights The perfect time to fly to a great location is during a break in school. You need to get away and enjoy some time exploring...
- A Classy Way To Travel Air travel has never been quite this exciting until now. It used to be that your only choice to get away from some of the...
- Get The Best Holiday Deal For Your Holiday Two of the essential components of a holiday are the flight seats and the accommodation. Depending on your destination the price of the flight seats...
- How To Get A Late Deal Package Vacation For the money conscious holidaymaker and households a cheap package holiday can offer a good alternative for getting a budget vacation abroad. Package holidays provide...
- You Can Uk Flights Plenty Enjoyable It is no secret that UK flights just like any other flight can be long and filled with anxiety when you can't bring along enough...
- A Flight Customized For You Private jet charters have become the best way to fly, and very popular over the last few years. There are a multiple of internet websites,...