Airline fees test travelers’ limits

Standby travel fees
When I recently flew from New York City to Detroit on Delta Airlines, I had a three-hour layover before my flight to Traverse City, Mich., so I tried to get on an earlier flight. But Delta no longer offers free standby travel; instead, you can pay $50 for a confirmed seat on an earlier flight.

American, Continental, United and US Airways have all adopted a similar $50 “same-day confirmed” option, essentially eliminating free standby travel — unless you’re an elite frequent flier or paid a higher fare. AirTran, JetBlue and Virgin America still allow free standby travel, or you can pay a fee to switch to an earlier flight.

Here’s my problem with these fees: they’re completely one-sided in favor of the airlines. On the outbound leg of my trip, mechanical problems caused me to miss my connection and spend several extra hours in Detroit, but when Delta had the chance to get me to my destination early, I was asked to pay. Eliminating standby travel is also counter to an efficient flow of passengers: by filling empty seats with passengers who are ready and waiting, carriers can open up seats on later flights — potentially accommodating other travelers.

When I finally boarded my flight (which was delayed by rain), an elderly man ahead of me was turned away at the gate because his boarding pass was for a later flight. He seemed confused about why he couldn’t board, but the agent brushed him aside. There may not have been an empty seat to give him, but with storms bearing down, why not try to get an old man to his destination? Because there’s a fee for that.

Phone reservation fees
The fee to book a ticket by phone rather than doing it yourself online is now $15 to $35 on most airlines, except Southwest, which doesn’t charge.

If airline Web sites worked perfectly, and displayed every flight option, with clear disclosures about rules and fees, those fees might be justifiable. But Web sites have glitches, they don’t typically show every flight option, and online ticketing is only getting more confusing as carriers hawk hotel rooms, rental cars and travel insurance during the checkout process and make fee information difficult to find.

Many travelers did not grow up with a mouse in hand, and they should not be penalized for needing human help with an expensive, complicated ticket purchase.

Peak travel surcharges
Last fall, many airlines began imposing holiday surcharges for travel around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s — a practice that expanded to “peak travel” surcharges of $10 to $30 almost every day this summer.

Most travelers aren’t aware of these surcharges because they are not listed separately in price quotes, but FareCompare.com has compiled a helpful chart showing how much you’ll pay for peak travel through early 2011.

Rick Seaney, FareCompare’s chief executive, said this strategy allows airlines to raise fares on specific days, rather than across the board, which is a legitimate business practice, but why not tell customers?

“Having a bunch of unbundled fees and add-ons makes it more complicated for people to compare apples to apples,” Mr. Seaney said.

That appears to be the airlines’ goal, although the government may step in and require clearer disclosure of fees. For now, your best bet is to bookmark SmarterTravel.com’s “Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees,” which lists most fees charged by different carriers. Or fly Southwest, which has committed to not charging for any service that has historically been free.

“We’re sticking a stake in the ground on that,” Mr. Hawkins said.