Higher prices and more bumping add up to gut punch for air travelers
The latest bad news for airline travelers: rates are on the rise and if you happen to be bumped, chances are you won’t be getting anywhere soon. Delays that in the past were often hours can now be days.
“Airline fees are steadily increasing — some by more than 50 percent since a year ago,” according to a USA TODAY analysis.
The fee increases come as travelers are already absorbing news of higher holiday ticket prices.
Some critics called it a “gut punch” for air travelers.
The analysis compared 13 US airlines’ fees lately with those in effect in June 2009. The report also found that passengers are encountering new types of fees.
Six big US carriers now have priority boarding fees. In addition, Spirit Airlines has begun charging for carry-on bags.
“The numerous fees are a sore subject for many fliers, but their dissatisfaction hasn’t deterred airlines from bringing in record revenue from additional fees,” the newspaper reported.
US airlines brought in $2.1 billion in ancillary revenue during this year’s second quarter, including nearly $893 million from checked-bag fees and about $600 million from reservations changes, according to government statistics released in late September.
That’s up 15.8 percent from the same period the year before.
Other findings include that the most expensive change fee for a coach ticket has jumped from $250 to $300, which American charges for some international flights, and that booking a reservation by telephone can be costly. That was true even for frequent-flyers. Some airlines charge an extra $35 for phone reservations.
As for getting bumped, commercial airlines at least in the US have never been so full. Many major airlines in a recent month were filling almost 85 percent of their seats.
Bumping, known as "denied boarding" in the industry, has not been a major problem. Most instances of bumping were attributed to weather. Airlines usually try to send passengers out on the next plane.
But bumping today is growing.
In the first half of this year, the rate rose to 1.37 per 10,000 boardings, the highest first-half rate of people involuntarily denied boarding in 16 years. Experts attribute it to record-high passenger loads.
The rise in involuntary bumpings is obviously a byproduct of US airlines’ record-high passenger loads. That’s the result of the airlines cutting capacity, or the number of seats available, by 12 percent since 2005 by reducing the number of flights or moving to smaller planes.
With today’s air climate, it can take travelers a day or more to reach destinations. It can cost hours of scrambling on the phone, extra expense and stress.
So any good news for air travelers?
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has proposed increasing the maximum compensation from US$800 to $1,300. The proposal is included in a package of "fliers’ rights" rules that LaHood wants to impose this fall.
By David Wilkening
David
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