Once upon a time , there was this decennary ring the ' XC . the great unwashed assume entirely too much plaid , music was essentially a cluster of dudes from Seattle squeak over guitars , and aviation locomotion was pretty straightforward . You pay one price , break up your seat , control a udder or six , and if you fly during mealtime you got quasi - eatable food . It might not have been fortunate , but it was at very least the Tolerable Age of flying .
Now ? We ’re probably half a decade away from being charged for pressurized oxygen . Airlines flip on fees for everything from checked bags to alter tickets to the pleasure of speak to a reservation broker somewhere in Bangalore . And it ’s not just Spirit . The so - promise “ legacy carriers ” are getting in on the act too , piddle off the flying public $ 25 at a time .
But those fees are n’t always necessary , and you’re able to almost always find a way around them . For the late installment of our serial ofTravel Hacks to make your journeying loose , we collaborated with Linsay Thomas , a veteran travel author atDealsPlus.com , and along with her we found some tips on how to obviate the five most common fees charged by airline .
Flickr/Alex Proimos
Premium-seat fees
We can all thank Spirit Airlines for the innovation in travelling that is seat - base pricing . So now , many airlines have a system where bulkheads , exit row , seats near the front , and gangway seats cost special to book . Meaning if you ’re over 6 ft tall and do n’t need to feel like Buddy the Elf every metre you tread on a planer , it can cost you up to $ 80 a flight of stairs . And that does n’t even fare with open bar .
HOWEVER , since we ’re all not suckers and do n’t opt to give a premium for a seat that could be prosperous , those “ premium ” buttocks do n’t always sell out . So get in at the airport too soon , and hold back in the lineage to speak to an actual federal agent or else of checking in at the self - assistance stall . If you ’re friendly , grin , and talk to the agent like a human being , expect politely for one of the better seats is a pretty mellow - percentage shot . It ’ll involve a little bit more of your fourth dimension , but it ’s absolutely worth it if you need excess leg room .
The other ( admittedly risky ) way to get a premium keister without paying for it is to check in on the later side . Since most people will decline to pay for seat upgrades , exit rows and other premium seat localisation are often the only one pull up stakes for the last few passengers to check in , leaving the airline no option but to put you in those seats for free . But you should only apply this strategy if you ’re feel lucky , otherwise you ’ll probably get stuck with a middle seat in the back of the cabin , next to the bathroom .
Baggage fees
carry on a full suitcaseand a “ personal item ” that may or may not contain a human body makes you only slightly less - fearful thanthe dreaded buttocks lounger . And while $ 25 is a fair reasonable price to not be a threat on humanity , there are way around pay up to ensure your dish . The most obvious is fly Southwest Airlines , the only major carrier who get you check two complimentary bag on domesticated flights . Past that , if you ratify up for American Airline’sCiti Platinum Select AAdvantagecard or theUnited Explorer card , you get one free checked bag . Most airlines reinforce allegiance too : the most coarse “ perquisite ” of any elite status is a liberal bag .
you may also take your bag through protection ( provided you do n’t have any proscribe items in it ) and then volunteer at the gate to check it for free . Flight attendant will appreciate it , and you ’ll save yourself some cash .
Direct-ticketing fees
book your tickets directly with an airline ( as opposed to an online land site like Kayak or Orbitz ) can relieve you worry down the road if anything goes wrong , but calling an airline to make a reservation can cost up to $ 45 per ticket now . Plus , direct ticketing it makes it hard to comparison shop against other carriers . So here ’s what you should be doing : use an on-line search railway locomotive to find the airline with the best Mary Leontyne Price , then go to that airline ’s website and book at once . The toll is almost always the exact the same , since the Kayaks of the world are just pulling together the price they discover from the airlines ' sites . But the direct booking ( free online instead of paying for that phone call ) urinate it exponentially easier if you need to deepen anything with your reservation .
Change fees
Airlines really do let you make changes to your ticket , even for non - refundable reserve . That say , the fee ( in addition to pay the fare conflict ) is typically in the range of $ 175 , which is probably the worst cost gouge in the industry . So how do you get around it ?
Well , even with non - refundable ticket ( aka the super cheap unity almost everyone buy ) , most airlines have a 24 hour alteration or cancellation policy that gives you a mulligan stew in suit you hit the ' Buy ' clit while looking at a calendar from the incorrect month or year ( and you ’d be surprised how often that happens ) . The only other way to protect yourself is to grease one’s palms travel insurance policy , which usually is n’t deserving the cost , but is a full approximation if you have any reason to conceive that your plans might change . Planning your first - ever holiday with a newfangled significant other ? Might want to insure that slip , just in showcase .
Beyond that , there ’s always Southwest Airlines , who only charges you the difference in menu to make a change . Sometimes it demand stopping in Albuquerque on your path from Oakland to Los Angeles , but , hey , at least you ’re not paying fees .
Flickr/frankieleon
Paper-ticket fees
Here ’s something to take you back to the ' eighty : Some citizenry still take a firm stand on make airline provide them with a forcible paper written matter of their ticket , and not just the one you print out at the check - in kiosk . Who are these folks ? We can only put on they are sr. traveler who do n’t feel well-situated arriving at the aerodrome empty - handed , leave it to " chance " that their ticket will as if by magic happen from some machine . That , or they ’re die - hard scrapbookers .
Flying 67 legs around the worldly concern ? Your carrier of alternative might wind up book with a smaller airline business that still apply newspaper tickets , and guess who pays for the privilege ? Paper ticketing costs airlines more than electronic tickets , and airline eff returning the party favor . These days newspaper tickets will run a $ 25 or $ 50 charge . If you really desire a palpable souvenir of your odyssey from DFW to Portland , publish up a boarding pass when you get to the aerodrome , then show it to your grandkids . For everyone else , keep your optic unfastened for the flush , book with major airline that apply electronic ticketing , or hold your multi - segment trip separately .
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Flickr/Austrian Airlines
