The airlines collected a whopping $21 billion in ancillary revenue last year.
With earnings like that, the fees are going to keep coming, fast and furious.
Here’s what’s happening.
United and Continental have started to match policies in anticipation of the merger. If you’re a basic MileagePlus member and book an awards ticket within a 21-day window, United nails you with a $75 fee.
The good news? The airline has reduced its change fee on awards tickets.
Meanwhile, Continental now charges $150 to redeposit miles, which is double its earlier cost.
Spirit Airlines is charging $5 for an airport agent to print out boarding passes. Next year, they’ll charge $1 to print at the airport kiosk.
JetBlue launched a paid service that gets you priority access through security.
The cost of its other optional service for more legroom has gone up by $5.
What’s not optional is JetBlue’s increased fee to check a second bag, which now costs $35.
But hey, at least the airline still allows the first bag for free, which is a rarity these days.
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