Some airline fees up by more than 50%

[amtrakwolverine]

Airline fees are steadily increasing — some by more than 50% since a year ago, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
The analysis, which compared 13 U.S. airlines' fees today with those in effect in June 2009, also reveals that passengers are encountering new types of fees.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-09-27-1Aairlinefees27_ST_N.htm

 

[jis]

Hmmm, no mention of by far the largest fee of them all.... fuel surcharge!

For most frequent fliers the fees like checked baggage, premium seat, and early boarding etc. don't matter since they mostly don't pay those. The itinerary change fee applies to only certain cheaper fare classes.

On many airlines you can specifically ask for flexible fares as opposed to cheapest fares to avoid those fees by paying a higher upfront fare. I have actually done that in the past when the trip was not certain but I wanted to lock in a lower fare. Typically this is useful on international flights where the change fees are higher on the cheapest fares.

But everyone gets to pay the fuel surcharge which on long flights can run into several hundred dollars. And then there are the DoT and for international flights, other airport fees that everyone gets to pay, but those typically add upto something in the range of $100 or so.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The itinerary change fee applies to only certain cheaper fare classes. On many airlines you can specifically ask for flexible fares as opposed to cheapest fares to avoid those fees by paying a higher upfront fare.

In my experience booking codes that avoid all possible change fees are typically at or near full-fare, which can be as much as two or three times the cost of a discounted fare. Even in the case of international travel we're talking about a substantial increase over what most folks currently pay. Not to mention that "asking" implies you're talking to another human, which will generally incur its own additional fee. There are ways to avoid change fees but it's rare that you'll save any money by using them, at least not in the long run. A week or so before departure the available fare buckets will be much closer in price but by that point most folks would already have their plans firmly in place anyway. At one time you used to be able to buy international tickets in other countries that were much easier to change. Although those tickets still exist the airlines have cracked down on using them for any flights that don't involve the country they're purchased in.