Airliners Hidden Fees?
I recently read some interesting information about how many airliners charge a lot of extra fees, mostly (speculative of course) to regain profits that seem to be so elusive to airliners, especially after 9/11. They even may incur a lot of fees for airline miles achieved through the use of special airline miles credit cards that earn free mileage every time they are used for purchases, so one must be careful to read the fine print when planning a trip using their miles apparently.
The fees I read about concerning our biggest concern (since we have one of the best airline miles credit cards hee hee), are the ones that concern redeeming these miles. Apparently some airlines will charge for not giving them sufficient notice when booking a ticket with free miles. It depends on the airline, but as little as three days notice and as much as 20-30 days notice may constitute “adequate notice” to them, and if adequate notice isn’t given, you might be looking at some sort of surcharge when redeeming miles.
There are also many additional fees that are added when you call and book a ticket, or book a ticket in person. Hmm, seems like a lot of airlines REALLY want you to book tickets online nowadays, huh? Not that I’m complaining about that, because probably more than anyone I know, I am the queen of booking and paying bills online these days. God forbid I have to pick up the phone or make an appointment or pay a bill in person!
There also are many times fees for cancelling a flight or trying to change flights, depending on the timing and the airline, and many times they may charge an additional fee for flying stand by. While some of these fees are apparent, some are not, and you really don’t know what you’re paying until you get your bill or look at your receipt, or heck, if the salesperson looks at you and tells you your total in some cases!
But we usually pay, because, well, you kind of have to, especially with flying, it’s not like you really have a choice many times, since you are limited on when you can travel and know what kind of ticket you need and when you need it for, you’re a prisoner to these fees. I guess it goes with the territory though - we all know that traveling is expensive these days, the cost of fuel is way up, and they do have to pay a lot of employees!
