Airline Fees On Board

The airline fees most of us are aware of these days are for checked bags – but there are other fees piling up on everything from meals to pillows. Of course any of the fees for things on board the plane aren’t quoted when you’re browsing for cheap flights – which means you feel ripped off when you think you get a great deal and only later find out that you’ll have to pay extra for beverages, a hot meal, a movie, a pillow, etc.

On board airline fees change with some frequency, so it’s impossible to create a list here that won’t potentially be out of date within a few months. You can use this information as a reference point, however, and should always check with the airlines directly to find out what their current fees are. They don’t make it easy to locate this information on their websites, but it’s worth hunting for before you get too excited about a great fare.

Airline Fees On Board

Keep in mind that these fees are one-way – they’re not tacked on to the price of your ticket. So if you’re flying round-trip, that $8 pillow and blanket set will cost you another $8 on the way back (unless you keep it and bring it with you on the return leg).

• Alaska Airlines – No charge for seat selection; $6 for in-flight meals; $6 for alcoholic beverages
• American Airlines – No charge for seat selection; $9+ for priority boarding; $8 for pillow/blanket set; $3-10 for in-flight meals; $6 for alcoholic beverages
• Continental Airlines – Extra charge for certain seats (prices vary); no charge for blankets on some flights only; $4-7 for in-flight meals (on flights under 6.5 hrs; free on flights over 6.5 hrs); $6 for alcoholic beverages
• Delta Air Lines – No charge for seat selection; $2-8 for in-flight meals; $5-7 for alcoholic beverages
• jetBlue – No charge for seat selection; $10 for extra legroom seats; $7 for pillow/blanket set; no charge for in-flight meals; $6 for alcoholic beverages
• Southwest – $10 charge for priority boarding; no charge for in-flight meals; $5 for alcoholic beverages
• Spirit Air – $20 for exit row seat; $8-15 depending on what part of the plane you choose; $25 for front seats with more room; $2-5 for in-flight meals; $2-3 for regular beverages; $6 for alcoholic beverages
• United Airlines – No charge for seat selection; $9+ for extra legroom seats*; no charge for pillows/blankets on international flights; $5-9 for in-flight meals; $6 for alcoholic beverages
• US Airways – $5+ for aisle or window at the front of coach; $7 for a pillow/blanket set; $3-7 for in-flight meals; $7-8 for alcoholic beverages

* United has a program you can pay $425 for a year of premium seating

Another fee you might see more often these days is for in-flight WiFi – many airlines have been offering it for free on a promotional basis, but as it becomes more commonplace it’s quite likely to be another hefty per-flight charge. If you’re a frequent traveler or business traveler for whom this is a major benefit, check with the airline you’re flying most to see if they have a monthly or yearly pass you can get for WiFi.

More Resources

Smarter Travel has a set of PDFs that are full of all kinds of airline fee information. They’ve broken it down into US airlines, European airlines, and Latin American airlines – so pick the PDF that applies to the airline you’ll be traveling with, and consult the chart for the various fees. As of this writing, it looks like the information was last updated roughly 6 months ago – but it also looks like they update it at least yearly.

Kayak has some airline fees outlined on their site, and although this list is more than a little unwieldy to begin with you can use the check boxes to the right to clear the whole list and check only the airlines you’ll be flying. There are links from this page to more information, since many of the fees are “variable.” There’s no indication on this page of how often the information is updated.

FareCompare has a list of a few “weird” fees you might not typically think of when it comes to air travel, but most of them are covered on the list above.

photo by JorgeRioBRAZIL