Airline Fees Chart

Now that the airlines have parsed out all sorts of little fees they used to bundle in the price of an airline ticket, it’s more difficult to figure out the actual cost of travel. You hunt for cheap airfare, you think you find a killer deal on one of the airfare booking sites, and then the additional fees start piling up.

Some of the fees come instantly in the form of taxes and charges before you can even hit the “buy” button on your purchase. But others are more sneaky, showing up when you decide to check a bag or if you should get hungry or cold or bored during your flight.

If the price of an airline ticket is super cheap these days and the additional fees don’t add up to much, in theory that’s fine – but if you aren’t aware of all the additional charges and they add up to make it so that “great deal” on a ticket isn’t such a great deal after all, that’s a pain.

The airfare booking sites won’t tell you about all the little fees when you’re making your purchase – partly to make their prices on tickets seem lower, and partly because the charges change frequently and it would be hard to keep up to date. That means you’ve got to do a bit of homework before your trip to find out how much that ticket will really end up costing you. Here are some articles to help you do just that.

Airline Fees for Luggage

Nearly every airline now charges passengers for checking even their first bag on domestic flights (international travelers typically get one checked bag for free), but the charges vary quite a bit depending on the airline you’re flying with and whether you check-in online or at the airport. This article has some of the checked bag fees (and, in the case of Spirit Air, the carry-on bag fees) for the major US airlines, as well as resources to find out current information on a longer list of airlines.

>> Read more about airline fees for checked bags

Airline Fees On Board

Once you’ve paid to check a bag, your battle against airline fees isn’t over – not by a long shot. The days of free in-flight meals (however bad they were in the first place) are over, at least on domestic flights. You might get a free non-alcoholic beverage and a bag of pretzels, but if you want anything more substantial you’ll be paying for it. Oh, and on some airlines you’ll also be paying for a blanket, a pillow, and in-flight entertainment, too. Find out who charges what for which amenities in this article.

>> Read more about on-board airline fees

Airline Fees for Pets

Flying with Fido probably isn’t something you do every time you get on a plane, and if you’re traveling with a pet you probably know that you’ve got to make those arrangements well in advance of your arrival at the airport, but there’s quite a range in what various airlines charge for bringing a pet onto a plane. In fact, some won’t even allow you to carry an animal on board as cargo – your only option is to bring it into the cabin with you (try that with a Great Dane!). Learn which airlines charge what for traveling with your pet in this article.

>> Read more about airline fees for traveling with pets

Additional Resources:
You should always check with the airline you’re flying for the most updated information when it comes to airline fees, but for starters you can consult the airline fees chart that Smarter Travel put together. It’s a set of PDFs for US airlines, European airlines, and Latin American airlines, and it covers all the major fees you might encounter.

photo by alex-s