There's a Charge for Reading This! A Guide to Airline Fees, Penalties and Charges

Consider this your travel cheat sheet. Here, we've outlined the most common unexpected charges airline travelers incur. (Please note: Fees change regularly so check with your airline for specific, up-to-date information. This list will help you know what fees to ask about!)

Ticket Change

We're all used to the ticket change fee, which is an annoyance to us, but a major source of revenue to the airlines. I can remember when the airlines' standard ticket change fee was $25. That figure has gradually increased over the years. Now, most cheaper domestic fares have a change fee of $150. And international tickets can be even higher - often $250. It isn't just the change fee - the airlines will charge you any difference in fare as well. If you are traveling on business, chances are that your ticket was more expensive anyway as it was probably purchased at the last minute. The good news is that most full fare tickets have no change fee.

Over-the-Phone Booking

If you choose to book your ticket over the phone with an agent, you'll incur an additional charge. Most basic business trips - flight, car and hotel - can be booked easily online. But if you do have a complex itinerary - or, if you're just one of those people who prefer to speak to a person - your fee for booking and ticketing over the phone can be anything from $5 to $20 per ticket, depending on the airline.

Frequent Flier Miles

You may think it should cost nothing to cash in all those hard-earned frequent flier miles to get a free ticket, but most mileage tickets are not free. In addition to the taxes (which can be several hundred dollars if traveling overseas), most major airlines now charge a ticketing fee for mileage tickets as well if they are booked over the phone. Typically, this ranges from $10 to $25 per ticket, not per transaction. And if you are booking award travel at short notice (generally within three weeks) extra fees apply, often around $75. It pays to be an elite or premier passenger with your airline, as many of these ticketing fees are waived.

Food and Drink

Want a drink on the plane, either before or after that business meeting? If you've traveled in coach recently, you know that the standard charge for alcoholic drinks on most airlines is now $5 (another reason to fly first class!). Airlines have also started to experiment with charging for meals. Of course, you don't have to pay for them, but unless you take your own food, you have little choice. And as many of us have discovered, there are often no meals offered at all in coach.

Comfort

If you're stuck in coach and trying to get the best seat you can, you may have to pay for it. Northwest charges between $5 and $35 for a seat that has more legroom on flights within the United States. JetBlue and AirTran also impose various charges for either the exit row seat, or others with more room to stretch. United has an unusual twist on this concept: For an annual fee of $349, you and a companion are assured seats at the front of coach - subject to availability, of course.

Baggage

Not so long ago, the system of charges for overweight bags was simple: If you had a third checked bag or an overweight bag, you paid extra for it. However, in recent years, the airlines have started to charge passengers traveling domestically for checking any bag, regardless of weight. American Airlines increased its bag charges for domestic travel in August 2009 to $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second bag. United is less expensive: $15 for the first bag and $20 for the second (again, if you are an elite or premium flier, you don't have to pay these fees) and Southwest only charges for a third checked bag.

Hefty Passengers

Most of us can just about stand to pay for our bags - especially if they are overweight - but surely the most annoying and ridiculous extra charge has to be the fee proposed for overweight passengers. Several airlines have apparently thought seriously about weighing passengers at check in and charging accordingly, but United is the latest airline to actually insist that obese passengers purchase a second seat, a policy already in place with some other airlines. You may not like the idea but, if you're stuck next to somebody who seems to be taking up your seat as well as his own, it's hard to disagree with the policy.

It seems as though there's no escaping the various fees, charges and penalties that are part of any business traveler's life. And who can really blame the airlines when it is a relatively easy way to make some much-needed money? However, it may pay to fly Southwest on that next trip. Of the major US carriers, it is the only one that doesn't charge a change fee (only the fare difference) and doesn't charge to book tickets over the phone. Sadly, that drink will still cost you $5.