Keeping up with airline fees
One of my research projects-in-progress for Pocketmint has been a comprehensive chart of airline bag fees. Since I can’t keep straight who charges what for which item of luggage, I figured other people must be having the same problem.
Turns out someone else saved me the trouble! Travel search engine Kayak (of which I am very much a fan) has a chart that shows not only bag fees but also charges for food, pets, unaccompanied minors, seat assignment, and legroom. The chart appears to be regularly updated; as of this writing, none of the entries are more than a week old.
One interesting thing I learned from this chart is that Southwest offers free service to unaccompanied minors. Claire’s first solo trip this summer, to visit her aunt and uncle in Eugene, was in dire jeopardy because the unaccompanied minor fee would have added $150 to the ticket price. (We worked out a way to drive her instead.) Southwest doesn’t fly SEA–EUG, but we may send her to family in Austin next year, so that’s good to know. Since Southwest is the one airline that has been protected from high fuel prices, this may even still be relevant a year from now.
Also, Airfare Watchdog has a list of other fees to watch out for. Did you know that many airlines now charge for reservations made on the phone or in person? Luckily for me I actually prefer the Internet.
(Photo by Drewski2112.)
