Airlines Fee Chart

[tagryn]

via ungradetravelbetter.com, Rick Seaney's comparison list of all airline fees. Airlines have been sneaking a lot of small fees in recently, so its useful to see what the current state of things is. Some highlights:

• USAir now charges $2 for all beverages, including water
  
• Continental is the only airline left offering free inflight meals (on flights of 2+ hours only)
  
• Charging for every checked bag is now policy at American, USAir, United, and Spirit. This also makes it tougher for those of us who don't normally check bags, since it means folks who would have checked their bags before will instead be carrying them onboard, and competing for already-scarce overhead space.
  
• Free curbside check-in is gradually going away, as well.

As UTB notes here things are only going to get worse. American is charging $5 for making a reservation online - ouch. And if you have some miles stored up in a frequent-flyer program, now might be a good time to use them, whether on flights, magazine subscriptions, donating them to charity, or what not. Odds are they're due to expire sometime in the next couple of years, anyway; that's another trend that's been making the rounds in the airline industry