Airlines rake in $4.3 billion in fees; Delta tops list

How appalling and they still charge you an arm and a leg to fly plus for their fuel  YIKES

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By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

CAPTION

By Paul Sakuma, AP

The amount airlines rake in from fees continues to rise, according to a report out today from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

The latest BTS tally shows that for the third quarter of this year, airlines cumulatively collected $1.5 billion in baggage and change-of-ticket fees.

That's up by about $143 million from the same quarter a year ago and up by more than $11 million from the second quarter of this year.

RELATED: US Airways: Fees 'represent 100% of profitability'

For all of 2010 (through the end of this year's third quarter), the BTS says airlines brought in more than $4.3 billion in bag and change fees .

And, as staggering as those numbers may seem to some, the actual amount collected in fees likely is much higher.

The BTS says those figures include only those two types of fees.

"Other fees, such as revenue from seating assignments and on-board sales of food, drink, pillows, blankets, and entertainment are reported in a different category with other items and cannot be identified separately," the BTS says in a release.

The BTS report broke down the amount collected by airlines. (Bag fees | Change fees)

As you might expect, the bigger airlines tended to collect the largest amounts.

Delta, which spent most of this year as the nation's biggest carrier, took in more than $1.26 billion combined in bag and change fees through the end of the third quarter.

The Associated Press notes "that's more than the $922 million collected by United Continental Holdings, which is bigger than Delta by traffic."

United Holdings was formed by the United-Continental merger, which closed during the second half of this year.

American placed third, with $784 million collected in bag and change fees trough the end of the third quarter.

There was one notable carrier that didn't even appear on the airline-by-airline list of change fees. That was Southwest, which does not charge an additional fee to change a ticket.

Southwest also is more lenient on bag fees, allowing customers to check two for free. The airline ranked 14th out of all U.S. carriers for fees collected for luggage, taking in about $22 million. Southwest charges per bag for each bag after two.

Most other carriers charge non-elite customers to check any bag. One airline -- Spirit -- even charges for both carry-on and checked bags.

Posted Dec 13 2010 3:13PM