Top 3 Most and Least "Fee Crazy" Airlines
Airline fees are a controversial topic these days, so we look a look at the fees that airlines were charging and picked the top 3 most and least "fee crazy" airlines. Avoiding fees is hard, so why not try to avoid the airlines that charge them instead?
Most Fee Crazy Airlines:
- U.S. Airways: Not only does U.S. Airways have the distinction of being the only US airline to charge for water, they were also the first to discontinue free snacks. They've also decided to do away with in-flight entertainment. So what will you think about while you're bored, hungry and thirsty? How about that $15 first checked bag fee, the $25 second checked bag fee, the $5-30$ fee to choose your favorite economy class seat, and the whopping $250 fee you paid to change your ticket. Oh, yeah, and remember when they made everyone crazy by charging a $5 fee to book a ticket... with their own website?
- United Airlines: United is following U.S. Airways lead with a combination of cutting amenities and introducing fees. They've done away with snacks and are selling "snack boxes." Soon, United will be raising the prices for these items and economy class passengers will be expected to pay $9 for a sandwich. While you're munching on that overpriced nonsense, you can add up the following fees: $15 to check your first bag, $25 for the second bag, and $125 for the third. Then there's the $25 you paid to book your ticket over the phone, the $125 you paid for the privilege of traveling with your pet in the cabin, and of course, the $349 per year that you pay to be able to "stretch out and relax in comfort in seats located at the front of the Economy section,".."if available."
- (tie) Delta Airlines & American Airlines: American was the first airline to charge for the 1st checked bag, and Delta has managed to resist that fee -- but Delta's other fees are just so darn expensive that we had to call this one a tie. Ultimately, it costs more to check two bags with Delta than it does with U.S. Airways, United, or American. American currently charges $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second, and from $3-6 for snacks. Delta charges nothing for the first checked bag, but if you're thinking of checking two bags, get ready to pay $50 for the second bag, and $125 for the third bag. Ouch! Delta's snacks are complimentary, but they charge from $1-10 more for certain special items.
Least Fee Crazy Airlines:
- Southwest Airlines: Southwest is the only major airline that isn't charging a fee to check two bags, and the third checked bag will only cost you $25. There is also no fee to change your ticket. Instead, you'll get a flight credit that is good for one year. They don't charge a fee to book over the phone or in person, and they don't charge a fee for an unaccompanied minor.
- AirTran: AirTran has fees but they're lower than a lot of its competitors. For example, the 2nd checked bag is $10 and the third is $50. The ticket change fee is $75, and unaccompanied minors will only cost you $39, as opposed to $100 on Delta, United, etc. You will pay $6 for an advanced seat assignment and $20 to sit in an exit row.
- JetBlue: JetBlue keeps threatening to go over to the dark side with new charges for things that used to be free (headsets $1, blankets and pillows $7) but they still have some of the more reasonable fees in the industry. There is no charge for the first checked back, and the second bag will cost you $20. Changing your ticket will cost you $100, and expect to pay from $10-20 more for their mini-business class "extra legroom" seats. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages are plentiful and free, however. Love those blue potato chips.
If you're looking for an easy way to compare fees, check out this excellent PDF from the folks at SmarterTravel.com, Airfarewatchdog.com, and SeatGuru.com.
(Photo: Jenna Belle )
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Comments:
Its really too bad that the "Least Fee Crazy Airlines" don't fly outside North America. I need to fly to Australia later this year and I probably have to choose one of the "Mose Fee Crazy Airlines" to do so.
Yeah for Southwest for holding the line. I flew with them last month and it was full flights and so cramped but compared to the lousy attitude and fees from other airlines I'll take em any day of the week.
One thing to note is that if you are a frequent flyer with US Airways, a lot of those fees go away. As much as US Airways sucks, the free upgrade to first class on domestic flights (when seats are available) is probably the best perk in the airline industry.
Southwest is always a full airplane, but if you check in the day before you always board first, so you can at least choose your favorite seat.
I love SWA, their employees always have the best attitude, and usually have decent snacks, too.
United belongs higher on the list now that they're going to start charging for food on flights to Europe.
Seriously, though, DON'T FLY WITH THEM.
@zigziggityzoo: Its an employee first company. Who would have thought that if you take care of your employees they, in turn, will take care of customers?
@V for Vishnu: If you don't mind a stop or two there are plenty of choices. It's much better crossing the Pacific if you pick an Asian carrier like Singapore or ANA.
Common theme about the 3 least fee-crazy: They don't fly out of O'hare. That makes me a sad gnome.
(technically JetBlue does, but only to Long Beach, JFK, and Boston)
And this is why I am driving from Chicago to MA this year for Christmas. I would rather spend 14+ hours in a car with a large dog and a baby than fly with any airline trying to squeeze blood from a stone.
I'm elite on Delta. I never pay a fee for anything. If you fly enough to have status, you won't run into many of these fees. The occasional traveller is not concerned with service, they are only concerned with low-price airfare. As such, the airlines have made it clear that they will compete on price, and then charge extra for convenience.
For the occasional traveller, buy a bottle of water on the concourse for $3.00 instead of on the airplane. Bring your own blanket and pillow and save $7.00. Pack light. Do you really need to check 2 pieces of luggage to go to on that trip?
Funny, the least fee crazy airlines are the traditional Low Cost Carriers
Southwest doesn't fly into Philadelphia :( Shame on them for having a catch-phrase like "You are now free to move about the country."
I booked a one-way flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York on Spirit the other week, b/c it was the cheapest. As I went through the process, i was laughing how each page was asking me if I wanted some service, etc. and the charge for it.
Want to check a bag: 1st bag- Online=$15, Airport=$30
Want to choose your seat: Window=$10, Middle/Aisle=$5, Exit row=$15
I was waiting for the "want a seatbeat" page to load, but I never saw it.
@MisterE87: why would anyone want to go to Philadelphia? Getting out of Philadelphia I understand...
@V for Vishnu: I dont know if British Airways flies there but if they do, dont, BA is like the BoA of the Skies.
@MisterE87: uh, yeah they do. SW has been flying out of Philly for a few years now. Maybe not to every other city, but quite a few.
The catch with Southwest's free unaccompanied minor thing is that the flight must be free from plane changes. If the flight isn't nonstop or one-stop, no plane change, then Southwest will not take the unaccompanied minor at all.
@ underpants gnome: southwest flies out of midway...unless you're in the NW suburbs, it's always worth the extra time to get down to MDW
@ MisterE87: southwest flies directly to PHL from MDW...and according to their route map, they fly to PHL from plenty of other places as well
(can you tell I prefer to southwest to every other carrier)
I booked a flight on United, and cancelled. They did not refund the fee. I called them, they told me that they hold the charge until my next flight. When I took that next flight, they charged me $100 for the privledge of not refunding my money in the first place.
United has treated me like crap for years, this is what I get for loyalty. I am going to give some other airline a chance to crap on me for a few years before I even consider going back.
soon they will make you get on a scale and weigh you by the pound and calcualte yout ticket price.
@V for Vishnu: And you're welcome. If you've never flown on any Asian airlines before, well, Singapore is amazing. You'll wish they flew domestic US routes too.
@V for Vishnu: If you're flying to Asia Pacific region, your best bet is to fly either Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, JAL or ANA. The eye candy is much nicer since they have strict height, weight and age restrictions for their staff for 'safety reasons' aka 'we only want hot chicks on our planes'. To compensate I've heard that becoming a JAL stewardess is very very very hard since the competition is pretty fierce. It's not Hooter's air after all :)
Also remember these check bag fees only apply to domestic flights. As far as I know, for international flights you do not have to pay for your 1st and 2nd checked luggage. Beyond those you have to pay the normal 3rd checked luggage or any overweight luggage as well.
Question - What would happen if people flew these airlines but didn't avail themselves of these fee paying services?
damn. just booked a cheap flight on united for a friend's wedding :-( good thing I won't need to check a bag. I'll make sure to bring my own food with me, since I'll be flying over dinner time. and will definitely be bringing an empty nalgene to fill up once I clear security.
Most of the Airlines that seem to only fly within the US like Southwest and Jet Blue have the lowest fees if any at all and seem to make a profit year after year. They have low fees and on top of that usually have the cheapest fares.
The major airlines that fly all around the world that are constantly losing money and charging passengers for everything under the sun just can't seem to make ends meet. It would seem to me that their general business model is broken. If charing someone who checks two bags gets you anywere from 40 to 50 extra dollars doesn't help you out enough, is not giving passengers a soda that they probably pay 10 cents for really going to make any sort of difference? It seems to me the problem is with flying over seas. Maybe they just need to charge what a flight over seas costs instead. I don't know, something just doesn't seem to make much sense.
@roshambo: But then why don't other airlines who fly to the US from overseas have the same issues US airlines do? For example, JAL certainly isn't nickel-and-diming their flyers (not to mention their Economy Plus product is loads above United's).
I have had the great fortune to fly Emirates Airlines to the UAE several times one thing I will say is that there worst flight is better than the best flights that the US has to offer in first class. This airline knows how the treat there customers.Instead of hitting us for every penny just put it into the price, at least this way the customer won't have a bad taste and feel that we have been F&^Ked. When asked by the flight attendent from Emirates how I liked the business class section "I asked if I could move in" it was that good.
Just wait till after Nov!
Southwest is indeed awesome. I've rarely had a bad experience with them. In addition to what has been mentioned, I was also pleased to find laptop / phone charging stations by all their gates at O'Hare.
I do not understand how Southwest survives when they do not fly where people actually live (aka NYC - Islip does not count). They don't even fly to Atlanta where planes live so I am just very confused by their whole business model.
When I can fly Southwest, I do. They simply have had the best service and reliability of any airline I've taken, and they tend to be competitive price-wise too.
On the other side of the coin, I'll never fly US Airways again after an unexplained delay caused me and others to miss a connecting flight. They would have left us stranded in the Philadelphia airport overnight if I hadn't chased down one of their elusive reps and shamed them into comping us hotel rooms. They simply have no concept of customer service whatsoever.
@PeteyNice: That is unfortunate about them not being in any real NYC airport, because I'd definitely use them more. But hey, here in Chicago, great!! I can take Southwest to a lot of places I fly. They're in a major hub by being in Chicago, albeit Midway and not O'Hare. I love Southwest and I use them every chance I can when I need to fly.
Southwest FTW. I've been top level elite on a couple of US carriers over the years and have largely abandoned them in favor of Southwest because they're not such a PITA to fly, and because the perks of elite status have been diluted to nearly nothing.
And on Southwest, if you buy Business First fares, you'll even get a decent seat 90+% of the time.
@PeteyNice: They locked in low fuel contract prices years ago and, as such, are immune to the current increase in fuel prices that are plagueing the rest of the industry. They made a gamble and won.
Brilliant business decision.
PeteyNice: Except for New York, they fly to all the major urban centers, just not necessarily the major urban airports.
EG, in the bay area, lots of flights out of oakland and San Jose, none out of SFO.
Out of Chicago, they fly out of midway, not Ohare.
In the DC area, a few flights out of Dullis, none out of National, and a Metric Crapload out of BWI, and frankly, to DC proper, BWI is hardly worse than Dullis because there are commuter trains from BWI to downtown DC.
New York is really the only area that southwest doesn't serve well.
This post should really be titled: "3 airlines you never want to fly on and 3 you probably do"
Thank the lord I don't fly much.
I feel REALLY bad for those who do, having to put up with so much of this crap.
@PeteyNice - Part of the reason SW survives is because they don't pay the ginormous fees that those airports want to charge to let them fly out of their gates. Also they hedge their fuel and have done so through 2012 while other carriers gave SW the finger when they asked them to hedge costs with them the other airlines said they would just take it out of salaries (not having any clue fuel costs would go where they have gone. They also maintain 1 type of aircraft so their maintenance and mechanics only have to be schooled in maintaining 1 type of plane vs. the 9+ other types that other airlines have. Also SW is extremely loyal to their employees (my husband works for them) and that's what drives great customer service. I'm not 100% sure but I think at the end of next year they will also be offering flights to Mexico!
One more point: the biggest PITA that I've found in flying Southwest is the Wright Amendment: the airline can fly from Love Field in Dallas only within Texas and to contiguous states.
What does "change your ticket" mean, exactly? There was a death in the family during a recent trip I took and when I called Southwest to see if I could switch to an earlier flight, they said that it would cost $75 per ticket to change. And that was the bereavement cost, she said it would be higher otherwise.
I may have missed it but I haven't heard much mention of Alaska Airlines. I guess they're primarily a west coast airline but they have been wonderful, and I pretty much exclusively use them.
Plus, during my last flight on Alaska, I was taking a shuttle plane from Seattle to Portland and they served beer and wine (complimentary) in-flight!
Also, they still don't charge for a first checked bag, and I've never had any significant delays (or any canceled flights) with them.
@karmaghost: Probably the difference between your fare and the full fare, which is what they sell you on a rebooking.
@snowburnt: The beer. Philly is rated as one of the best beer cities in the US. It's tied for first with, IIRC, Portland. Portland has more microbreweries, but Philly has far and away the largest variety of imports (it serves more types of Belgian beers than Amsterdam does). It even has a whole week+ dedicated to beer, with at least three different beer festivals.
Once Southwest's fixed fuel price agreement runs out they'll be up there in the crazy fees too I'll bet.
@yikz: these airlines are going to piss off their business customers just as much. Being able to change my ticket without huge fees is indispensable to me as a business traveler. So is being able to make my connection on time and not to have cranky, underpaid flight attendants on my airplane. I don't want to have to put up with craptastic service for 39,491 flights before I get to "Elite" status and they decide I paid enough to be treated like a human being.
AirTran may have lower fees, but they have some of the worst customer service I have ever had to interact with. And to make up for their lower fees they just charge you more of them. I had to take two bags on my most recent trip, one of them being a duffel bag which fits within the regulation size for baggage.. atleast when it is filled and not purposely flattened out. When I was checking in my bags the AirTran guy behind the counter decided that the bag looked like it might be over sized.. so he proceeded to push down on my bag (which only had clothes in it thankfully) and smooshed it out into a much more flattened state.. and this point he proceeded to measure it from flattened end to flattened end.. then he smooshed it around some more to make it wider.. then measure the width and told me that it was over sized.. I asked to speak to a manager.. I told him what happened.. then he did the EXACT same thing and told me that it was over sized.. I have flown with that bag for about a decade and never have I been charged an over sized bag fee for it.
The time I attempted to take AirTran before that, i was not allowed to check my baggage because even though I arrived an hour and a half before my flight, the woman at the check-in counter I was standing at could not figure out how to use the computer and kept me waiting for 45 minutes.. at which point her manager came by and told me that since my bags had not been checked 45 minutes prior to my flight that I would not be allowed to check them... at which point she offered me a refund.. minus fees of course.
Lower fees.. sure.. but you get what you pay for.
I do <3 Southwest. I have to travel for business in November (booo) and southwest isn't on the "prefered partner" list (more booooo) so I am going to have to use a crappy airline that is going to run late and generally be incompetent. The latest my flight has ever been on a southwest flight is 15 minutes. I can live with that, the people who were picking us up were even later than that, they did me a favor.
Only $39 for an unaccompanied minor? I'll take two, please.