In the end it doesn't really matter what we think about it, its up to the regulator agencies to enforce current laws. I'm more interested to see if they choose to do anything about it.

An industry with a longer history of random hidden fees is the telephone industry. People have been mad about telephone fees forever and that has not been fixed. For example Vonage (a VOIP telephone company, only 10 or so years old) added the made up revenue sources of a $1.99 "Regulatory, Compliance and Intellectual Property Fee."

Posted By Iolaire McFadden on September 8, 2010, 3:36 PM

I don't mind fees that I have a choice to pay / use or not.... Examples: If I know I can skip the fee by booking online, I can choose how to book. I can choose how much luggage to take, whether I want to buy the food or if I want to pay more for a better seat.

Actually hotel "resort fees" bother me more as they aren't in the advertised price and the small print talking about the is usually hard to find. Last week in Hawaii the hotel said we had to pay $25/nt and for that we got all of the following for "free" hi-speed internet, wifi in public areas, shuttle service, yoga & pilates, daily "cultural activates" and self parking. Of all of those we only used the parking which makes $25/day seem like a lot. If they gave you the option of paying it & getting all of those things or not, that would seem more fair.

Posted By Glenn Albert on September 9, 2010, 10:31 AM

The fees are for services actually used. Once we are used to the system, we won't want to go back to the bundled fees. Air fare is cheap. Let's not makke it expensive by adding unwanted charges.

Posted By lawthomas on September 9, 2010, 1:29 PM

My biggest complaint is a fee for luggage. How many people fly to a location for a week or more and do not need luggage? The airlines sell them selves for being able to take you to your vacation spot, then they charge you for taking clothes to wear when you get there. People are disturb ed by carry-on abuses which are magnified whjen people try to avoid the luggage fee. Charge for seat selection, early boarding, food, blankets and pillows but not for taking the clothes you need at the far off location the airline wants you to travel to. Can the airlines survive with busin ess travel only?

Posted By Len Fagen on September 9, 2010, 1:50 PM

I have found a way to avoid all these charges. Seriously....STAY HOME! (Or Drive)

We upgraded our home with a patio, hot tub, 52" flat screen TV, a new laptop, and a puppy.

I hate the hassles at the airport and the layovers, so we decided to drive (and maybe buy a motorhome soon)

But soon we discovered that when we were away on vacation, we could not wait to return to the comforts of home.

Year before last we took 10 vacations, including 5 cruises. This year we took one camping trip for a family reunion.
On another, we booked a room at the Holiday Inn for a convention. It was 90 degrees outside, and it was 90 degrees inside. The a/c could not be repaired over the weekend. So we hurried home where our a/c works!

I thought that at this age, I would be traveling all over the world 11 months of the year. No, thanks.

Posted By Diana Hershberger on September 9, 2010, 3:01 PM

Prices ahould include ALL the charges. That way, we the consumer can dicide if that is the airline we want to book with. Hidden charges are dishonest. Isn't there a law against that???

Posted By velitta on September 9, 2010, 3:03 PM

Luggage fees are by the far the most irrational. Can someone explain why, if I take a one week vacation in the U.S. I will be charged an outrageous fee to check my luggage, to enable me to bring all of those items not allowed in my carry-on. However, if I travel on a non-domestic flight, there is no checked luggage fee for the first bag. I will need exactly the basic items. It is senseless. The airlines should try providing exceptional customer service to lure passengers,rather than nickel and diming us to death with non-sensical fees and charges.
Airline travel is so stressful now, I don't know of anyone that truly enjoys it. It is simply a means to get from one place to another.

Posted By cyndi on September 9, 2010, 3:21 PM

I think there should be one price and it should include everything. This nickle and dimeing everything is ridiculous. If there are going to be separate fees, all airlines should have to report them the same way on their ads (in typeface large enought to actually read) and on their websites, so that they can easily be compared.

Posted By Pam on September 9, 2010, 4:14 PM

I would like to better understand why the bag fee is so high. What is happening to our bags that merits an extra $25? I could understand an amount more like $10, but have a hard time with $25.

Posted By Mary F on September 9, 2010, 8:19 PM

I believe it to be outragious. I don't mind paying fees that are necessary -. A couple of weeks ago I had to book a trip to visit w my Son and his family. He is a soldier and is shipping out - so I was traveling to say be safe and goodbye for now. I went on several sites to find the best price and connections that were reasonable. after over an hour I had finally made my decision to book from the travelocity site and the next to last page - I was shocked at the outrage... This site was goingto charge me a fee to print my ticket of 39.00 $ ... to print a ticket ... That should be free. and No I started the search again w a different host and no charge for printing my boarding pass....

Posted By deborah wood on September 9, 2010, 9:33 PM

It is absurd when checking 1 bag equals 15%+ of the price of the ticket. Add fees galore to feed greedy TSA agents and it get even worse. I said we will never fly again. Unfortunatley due to a family wedding we had to. Made me all the more sure we will never fly again.

Posted By Nick P on September 9, 2010, 9:48 PM

With the high price of fuel last year, I love that airlines began charging people who overpack; bringing their giant, overweight, everything but the kitchen sink bags. Learn how to pack people and wash out your undies in the hotel bathroom sink.

Posted By teri on September 9, 2010, 11:33 PM

I normally travel quite a bit and use Priceline all the time. Other people have mentioned other inexpensive websites so I decided to try another travel site. I purchased my tickets online for $91 plus fees compared to Priceline's $99 plus fees for a one way ticket.

Ended up paying $138 for each ticket and Priceline's total ticket cost would have been $117. I am sticking with Priceline from now on!!! There fees are listed on their website and they do not have "surprise or hidden" fees.

Posted By Wendy on September 10, 2010, 5:04 AM

The bottom line is, the airline industry along with many other industries like oil, utilities, and communication, are what I like to call "omnipotent businesses"; meaning no mater what happens, the business will always be there, and people will always use the product/service. The one single airline is liable to make billions in one day. Thats alot of money! Thats enough for an an employee to get paid, the expenses to be covered, and business execs with their sticky little fingers to go home at the end of the day very, very happy... you would think.. but NO! Because of the omnipotence of these companies, they dont need to compete with other businesses, so they compete with their customers, and like to see how far they can bend until they break. Like the oil companies, they know that you and I will need gas in our tank, and that we will pay just about anything to get it. Its the old "I got something you need" tactic. At the end of the day, its the middle-class man and down that lose out, and the super rich get ultra-super richer.

Posted By Mike C. on September 10, 2010, 10:04 AM

These extra charges are a joke.Over the last 20/30 years how many airlines have gone broke,merged,changed there names,or are just gone.This is just a great example of poor management and greed.general moters was another company that had the same type of management and just look what happened to them.

Posted By pzahner on September 10, 2010, 8:22 PM

The hidden fees and lack of transparency is getting out of hand, yes. The checked baggage fees and special seating fees make some sense for the airlines. Most of the others are ridiculous. I really think most people would prefer that they just raised the basic prices a little and kept things simple.

Posted By memory foam on September 12, 2010, 10:29 PM

I don't like the fees, but as long as we have the option to not choose the service incurring the fee than I can live with them. It's those fees that are "required" that should be included as part of the ticket. If I have no choice to opt out of whatever caused the fee, than it should NOT be a tacked on charged.

Airlines should provide a way of choosing a flight and then checkmarking a selection of services not covered by that ticket so you can get a final, bottom line price and you know up front what they do and do not provide. This would allow you to accurately compare pricing between different airlines. What is frustrating is being told one price and then being unpleasantly surprised by additional charges.

Those unexpected fees tend to discourage me from airline travel for recreation. Instead I've found I prefer to drive and stay closer to home, taking weekend trips instead of flying anywhere. Living in New England, there is a wide range of potential destinations available with less than 5 hours driving. I can visit major cities, small towns, numerous historical sites, lakes, beaches, fairs, huge shopping centers, sports attractions, gaming, amusement parks, etc. A slightly longer drive can even get me to another country.

With the extra time needed for airport security and baggage check-in prior to any flight, delays in flights & connections, time at baggage claim, and car rental desks, I usually have to plan an extra 2 to 4 hours in addition to the posted 'flight time'. In comparison, unless I'm going cross country, driving isn't really unreasonable. Plus I have the bonus of traveling at my own speed, having room to stretch out, and being able to pack the car with extras to make the travel more comfortable.

Posted By Neverwill on September 14, 2010, 11:45 AM

I agree that the fees should be presented in an easy-to-understand fashion, but am totally against rolling it all in to one price. Why should I pay more because others dont know how to pack?

Also, 50% or more travelers book through travel agenices? Really? In 2010?

Posted By megchicago on September 14, 2010, 2:08 PM

It used to be fun traveling by air, but any more it is nothing but a hassle. I have been traveling for 38 years via air and have seen it progressively get worse mostly in the last 10 years. It starts at the inception when you go to make your reservation and doesn't stop until you step off the plane and head home. Nickle and diming customers just alienates them. For example, for me to visit one of the kids in Phoenix it is actually cheaper and easier to drive the 10 hour trip. It is a two hour drive to any major airport (I have 4 international to choose from). You have to park the car, pay the fee, check any luggage...oh and pay for that, stand in the long TSA line only to have to strip and watch them harrass/hassle the poor fools who never fly and take too much or the wrong stuff with them. Eventually you get to the gate, but don't forget to stop and eat and get a drink of the expensive fast food. Once you make it past the gate you are lucky if you get a seat you now don't pay extra for (middle seat)with no legroom and some idiot in front of you who reclines his seat because he doesn't have any room either. You get hassled if you're a little big because you are invading, have to stow your overnight bag that is overstuffed to save a couple of bucks, and you might get charged for that too. If you want a pillow, blanket, or something to keep you hydrated you must pull out the plastic or suffer in silence only to find that if you chose the wrong airline you now get charged to use the loo as well. Oh and if you happen to complain about the kid kicking your seat, or the person who stinks of alcohol or b/o to the flight attendant who just ignores, and if you complain again you better watch out because you just might get reported to the marshall for being unruly and then put on a no fly list. Oh and I almost forgot...squeazing more people than is really humanely possible into a crammed smaller space and then try and say that were just imagining it. Give me a break.

Whatever happened to giving good quality customer service where everyone gets decent service at a fair price? Instead now the bottom line and padding some overpaid CEO's pocket is more important than actually keeping customers and treating them with dignity and honesty. Profit is all it is about...not the experience. Who cares about that?

Charge a fair price inclusive of the normal things the average traveler takes onboard, so I don't spend hours trying to decifer if I'm being overcharged or whether or not I must now carry a pillow in my already cramped purse or personal bag and ship my clothes ahead of my trip. Include one bag domestically and institute the weight limit on that bag. Then charge for anything over that unless traveling internationally. Don't charge for necessities like water or bathrooms. If you are going to charge me for a pillow and blanket it better be clean and new, not something refolded and thrown back in the overhead, and I better get to take it with me.

We traveled as a family of 4 adults to Europe for 1 month each having only 1 bag all kept within weight limits and many of the airlines we used gave us drinks/snacks gratis and even a bit more legroom.

Treat people with dignity and quit nickle an diming us to the point that our cars look all the more inviting. Because if I am going to be hassled and nickled and dimed everytime I travel I will find alternate means to do just that. And the only time I will flu is internationally.

Posted By elle on September 14, 2010, 11:39 PM

The airline luggage fees are the most irritating of all. Some travel gurus have suggested shipping your luggage ahead to where ever is your destination. Sounds good. Problem is... that can get as expensive as paying the airline fees. In addition, coordinating that so that the bags are there just when when you arrive, not too late or too early, is a hassle. Plus...the hotel or resort where you are going may not always be ok with that plan. They will probably have to store the item (problem) and may feel they are liable
(problem) if something should happen to the luggage in their care. Answer? Use your car! Problem there too. Gasoline prices have gone up 7 1/2 % countrywide as of Sept. 2010....the highest since Jan. of this year. Is the sky falling?

Posted By JAMES T from SC on September 16, 2010, 4:49 PM

I do not travel very much. The reason is all the hiden fees. I want to enjoy a vacation and not worry if I will have to come up with additional money at the check in counter. I have a friend who recently had to pay fees for bagage, but when she got home found several item missing from her bags. So we pay for our bags and some one in bagage steals from us. It makes a lot of sense.

Posted By BRENDA on September 23, 2010, 8:24 AM

Why don't they give us the FULL price then let us have discounts if we don't want food, checked luggage, special seating, etc.? This would be more honest and still give us the choice to pay for services. They'll never do it though because they don't really want us to know how much it can cost.

Posted By RG on September 29, 2010, 1:33 PM