US Airlines Collect USD 200 BIllion Annually

US Airlines Collect USD 200 BIllion Annually

US Airlines Collect USD 200 BIllion Annually. In 2010, US airlines began charging passengers to check the exchanges and to change reservations. During that year, both charges generated $ 6.3 billion in revenues (in constant dollars of 2016). Last year, airlines raised $ 7.1 billion for these two rates, but a whopping $ 200 billion of the many other charges they now charge.

The data comes from a new report released earlier this week by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that reviewed the charges levied by 11 US carriers. This report describes how selected US airlines have changed their offer and optional service pricing since 2010; the factors selected by airlines in the United States to determine when and how much to charge for optional services; and the measures that the US Department of Transportation (DoT) has taken since 2010 to improve the transparency of optional service fees and the opinions of selected aviation shareholders on these actions.

The GAO includes five carriers inherited from the United States: Alaska Air Group, American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Holdings and United Continental Holdings. The other six airlines included in the report are low-cost carriers and include Allegiant Travel Co., Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp., Southwest Airlines Co., Spirit Airlines Inc. and Sun Country.

Looking at just the various charges that were levied in 2010 and 2016, they did not change drastically. Checking a bag cost $ 20 to $ 25 in legacy companies in 2010, which had risen to $ 25 for all airlines by 2017. Among the low-cost carriers, Southwest still does not charge anything for the first registered bag, while Spirit has raised its price from a range of $ 19 to $ 25 to a 2017 range from $ 25 to $ 50, although a discount is available to members of its rewards program.

Legacy carriers charge $ 125 to $ 200 to change a reservation, and Delta charges $ 200 each way. Low-cost airlines charge $ 50 to $ 150 to change a reservation.

The GAO does not offer a price list of the many other options that passengers can purchase, but a list of several by airline. For example, Delta offers a "Comfort +" package that includes one to four inches more legroom than standard seats, priority boarding, and complimentary food and beverages. The airline also offers a "Preferred" package that offers passengers standard legroom in more favorable places on the plane.

What GAO and DoT want is more transparency on airlines' websites and third-party travel sites. In many cases, consumers who shop for a flight can not calculate how much the ticket will cost until well in the reservation process.