BaggageFees

Get out the barbells. It's time to do more lifting to prepare for heftier carry-on bags. That's because airline passengers may be hit with even more expensive baggage fees following a little-noticed recent development. In a victory for cash-strapped airlines still struggling with lagging demand...

Hey, is the recession over or something? Must be, because the airlines have suddenly decided to go crazy, raising our baggage fees again. Continental started it, hiking its domestic rates a jaw-dropping $10, from $15 to $25 for the first bag. The second bag now costs $35, up from $25.

Airline prices may appear to be at a historic low, but that's just a flight of fancy. In fact, the major carriers have just shifted their costs to extra fees, and the ugliest one of all is the one you pay to check luggage. At $20 a bag, a family of four will pay $80 each way, or $160 round-trip. You can save $40 if you reserve space ahead of time, but don't even think about adding a second checked bag, which adds another $60 round-trip, per bag.

There's a fine piece on AOL travel today by Jordan Simon about the ridiculous fees airlines charge on everything from booking to baggage. Granted, airlines had to do something to correct course after the dip in air travel following 9/11, the soaring cost of jet fuel and all that. But now that...

The authorities that run America's airports don't think you've been nickeled and dimed enough. They're lobbying Congress to hike the "passenger facility charge" from the current $4.50 to $7.50, levied each time you take off from an airport, not per trip. That's a jump of two-thirds. An increase to...

Well, that didn't take long. Seems like only yesterday (almost -- it was July 9) that U.S. Airways started charging $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second, plus another $5 if you wait until you're at the airport to check them. On Wednesday, barely 50 days after the last increase, the...

When it comes to fleecing us, it's the airlines that always move in a herd.On Friday, American Airlines announced that it, too, will be raising its checked baggage fees. It did not come to this decision on its own. Continental and Delta both did it last Tuesday. In college, my economy professors...

It's not often these days that we have cause to praise an airline, but today, the news is good. Alaska Air announced that it will guarantee timely delivery of your luggage to the baggage claim. If your bag takes longer than 25 minutes after your plane is parked at the gate, then you'll...

Bet you didn't see this coming. We all wondered what new fees the major airlines were going to institute next. Ryanair's gambit to have us pay to pee didn't go over too well, cutting off that avenue for now. So what do they do? Simply hike the fees they already charge. And do it right as summer...

The European giant Ryanair isn't gonna take any guff, mister. The airline just announced that effective immediately, passengers who are caught with more than one carry-on bag will be charged a chunky €30 right there on the spot. That's about $40 in American dollars. The airline...