U.S. airlines collected more than $6 BILLION in extra fees last year by charging for carry-ons, soda, and prime seats

U.S. airlines collected more than $6billion in baggage and reservation change fees from passengers last year — the highest amount since the fees became common five years ago.
Passengers shouldn't expect a break anytime soon as those fees— along with extra charges for boarding early or picking prime seats — have helped return the industry to profitability.
Airlines started charging for a first checked suitcase in 2008 and the fees have climbed since. Airlines typically charge $25 each way for the first checked bag, $35 for the second bag and then various extra amounts for overweight or oversized bags.

Up and away: Frontier is just one of the airlines who charged customers extra fees- like penalties for booking through third-party sites. Such fees helped the various airlines return to profitability

The nation's 15 largest carriers collected a combined $3.5 billion in bag fees in 2012, up 3.8 per cent from 2011, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Fees for changing a reservation totaled $2.6billion, up 7.3 per cent.
The airlines took in $159.5billion in revenue last year and had expenses of $153.6billion, according to the government. That 3.7 per cent profit margin comes entirely from the baggage and change fees.
Delta Air Lines once again took in the most fees — $865.9million from baggage alone — but it also carried more passengers than any other airline.
Delta collected $7.44 per passenger — about average for the industry. Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines collected the most, an average $19.99 per passenger in baggage fees last year.
The government only requires the airlines to report revenue from baggage and change fees.
The bad news doesn’t stop there as passengers can expect to pay even more this summer.

Not so friendly skies: In addition to the extra fees, fliers also had to deal with delays caused by the sequester

American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways all recently raised the fee for changing a domestic flight reservation from $150 to $200.
Even Southwest Airlines, which promotes its lack of change fees and 'bags fly free' policy, recently announced a new policy on no-shows.
Passengers who buy the cheapest tickets will have to cancel a reservation before departure; otherwise they won't be able to apply credit from the missed flight toward a later trip.
Many fees were first introduced to allow airlines to offset rising fuel costs. In 2008, jet fuel spiked 46 per cent to an average $3.06 per gallon as the price of oil hit an all-time high.

Packed: Frontier fliers have complained about overhead bins being too crowded, the airline said, justifying their fees as ;service enhancements'

Airfares have climbed in recent years but jet fuel remains costly — in 2012, the airlines paid an average of $2.96 a gallon.
Passengers have shown reluctance to book tickets if the base fare is too high, hence the introduction of more fees — collectively referred to in the industry as ancillary revenue.
Besides baggage and change fees, airlines are charging fees for extra legroom, the ability to skip security lines and for premium meals.
But the airlines are being aggressive about expanding those fees. United recently said in an internal newsletter that it hopes to collect $19.29 in average ancillary revenue per passenger by the end of 2013, up 9.1 per cent from the amount it collected last year.
JetBlue, which doesn't charge for the first checked bag, took in a record $22 per passenger in other fees in the first quarter, up 3 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

Costly carry ons: Some airlines charge up to $100 now for fliers to bring any bags on board

Airlines are also increasing certain fees depending on demand.
Thanks to a computer upgrade, United can now charge passengers different prices to upgrade to an Economy Plus seat, which has more legroom, depending on the route, day of the week, time of day and the location of the seat.
The airline said it increased the dollar value of those seats 25 per cent in 2012.