1. Lindsey Gillan
Luke Hunter
Ht-344
4/22/13
More Traveling Fees With Traveling Continuing to Trend in 2013
Within the upcoming years, travelers can count on spending more money if they
want a better experience. The flying fees have been around for many years and continue to grow
in all sectors of the industry to generate more money. There are some people that are willing to
pay less for something more basic, rather than having extra amenities. Some airports have been
known to have more fees in recent years, for example baggage fees, aisle seating, early departure
fees cancellation fees, Wi-Fi fees. When figuring out what the baggage fees come down to,
hotels can typically charge you two dollars per bag or more to bring your bag wherever you
want, without the tip included.
Back in the day, there used to be more services for companies that were expected for the
people, for example when pumping gas, there would always be someone who would be pumping
gas. According to skift.com, today “U.S. hotels began charging fees in the late 1990s, well
before U.S. airlines, but the record $1.95 billion that hotels were estimated to have charged in
fees in 2012 pales in comparison to the $12.4 billion that U.S. airlines were forecast to have
levied last year.(3)”
Adding the extra costs of traveling is a positive for companies to bundle packages
together. Many companies find very profitable by making a bundle deal for the customers so
that they think they are getting a better deal. Some airlines are starting to offer passengers a
trade-off deal. (4) Air Canada and Delta have already started recommending people to try out
their new trade-off, which offers passengers reduced air fares if they use their frequent flyer
miles often. With this there has also been a push in 2013 for outside companies to give guests an
option of receiving hotel reservations and ground transfers during the booking process, instead of
having the passengers complete their flight reservation. (4)
“A new study estimates that airlines around the globe will charge $36.1 billion in fees for
things like checked luggage, seat reservations, and in-flight meals this year. That’s an all-time
high, and an 11% increase over the 2011 total” (7), so how are business marketing their
company so people are willing to keep paying more fees each year.
Airline marketers are trying to get rid of the airline bathrooms, leaving one for the use of
the travelers who are willing to pay that extra fee to use it and in general it would make more
room for more seats in the plane to seat more people. “Part of his justification for the idea is that
six extra seats could translate to a 5% savings for passengers, which is actually less compelling
given how extremely cheap the tickets are on Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline. Your average
flight goes for £40, about $63, making the bathroom sacrifice worth about £2, or $3.15 per
person.(5)”