The Consumer Travel Alliance recently conducted an analysis of hidden airline fees and what portion of a typical traveler’s air travel costs might be unknown or undisclosed to the traveler at the time the ticket is purchased.
The analysis focused on four popular flight itineraries taken by millions of travelers each year – New York-Los Angeles, Boston-Washington, Chicago-Miami, and Washington-Orlando – and included just two of the many common fees now charged by airlines: checked baggage and extra legroom.
Methodology:
The analysis was conducted in early July 2010 on four popular travel itineraries: New York (JFK) – Los Angeles, Boston (BOS) – Washington (WAS), Chicago (ORD) – Miami (MIA), and Washington (WAS) – Orlando (MCO). Dates used for the analysis were October 21 -25, 2010.
The analysis used the lowest publicly-available prices for a roundtrip, non-stop ticket on any of the nine major U.S. airlines that offered a non-stop route for the travel itineraries in the study: AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, United, US Airways, and Virgin America. (Not every airline offered non-stop service on every route.) Data were gathered via a major online travel website and calculations were based on the base fare offered by the airline, not the additional taxes and airport fees.
Information on ancillary fees was gathered via the airline websites, SmarterTravel.com, and via individual traveler or media accounts, when the airlines did not make the information publicly available. Only ancillary fees associated with checked baggage and additional legroom were included in the analysis. Not all airlines currently offer additional legroom options.
Other ancillary fees currently offered by the airlines, including – but not limited to – seat reservations, pillows/blankets, drinks, unaccompanied minors, lounge access, pets, priority boarding, upgrades, and additional loyalty program miles, were not included in the analysis.
Topline Results:
• A typical traveler requesting extra legroom and checking a single bag would pay an average of one-quarter (26%) more than the base price of the ticket shown on the website.
• A traveler checking two bags would pay more than half the price of the ticket in additional fees that were hidden at the time of the transaction (54%).
• The amount of hidden fees charged to a typical traveler with a single bag ranged from 10% to 82% of the price of the base fare.
• The amount of hidden fees charged to a typical traveler with two bags ranged from 21% to 153% of the price of the base fare.
Route-Specific Results:
JFK-LAX :
• A traveler requesting extra legroom and checking a single bag pays an average of 18% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
• The same traveler checking two bags pays an average of 36% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
BOS-WAS:
• A traveler requesting extra legroom and checking a single bag pays an average of 42% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
• The same traveler checking two bags pays an average of 101% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
ORD-MIA:
• A traveler requesting extra legroom and checking a single bag pays an average of 26% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
• The same traveler checking two bags pays an average of 48% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
WAS-MCO:
• A traveler requesting extra legroom and checking a single bag pays an average of 32% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
• The same traveler checking two bags pays an average of 66% in hidden fees over the base price of the ticket.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
