With the proliferation of airline fees, it seems one needs a program to keep track of the players and the additional fees they charge. Southwest Airlines has added a fee chart to their website to track the difference between their no-fee approach to flying and the other guys. This is probably the most up-to-date listing of airline fees found on the Web.
This Southwest chart keeps track of the following fees —
Reservation by phone fee
1st checked bag fee
2nd checked bag fee
Priority seating fee
Beverage/snack fee
Meal fee
Alcohol fee
Oversize bag fee
Overweight bag fee
Travel with pets fee
Unacompanied minor fee
Curbside check-in fee
Non-refundable ticket change fee
Southwest lists these fees to draw a clear comparison between their actual airfare (with most fees included) and the other airlines’ actual cost (with up to a dozen additional fees).
The most common fees are the 1st-checked bag fees and the 2nd-checked bag fees. These mean an addition of a minimum of $30 to any round-trip airfare when checking a single bag. This 1st-checked bag fee is particularly aimed at families with children.
