This Mad Magazine cartoon from a few years ago was as relevant then as it is now. In fact, as we pointed out last week, airlines seem ever intent on increasing existing fees and exploring new ways to make money off things that were once included in the ticket price. Take for instance airline seating. Many carriers already offer reserved seating with extra legroom at additional cost. But how about reserving a regular old seat? Odds are, you’ll pay for that as well. A seat that happens to be closer to the front of the aircraft? There’s a good chance that will cost more, too. Charge of the flight brigade U.S. carriers collected an estimated $57 billion in revenue from fees in 2017, up almost 300 percent from five years earlier. Apparently, things are just taking off in à la carte land. Rather than improving upon the existing experience, industry executives seem smitten with other ways to reach into your wallet. United recently raised check bag fees to match JetBlue, and it’s probably only a matter of time before other carriers follow suit. According to a recent article by Forbes magazine, passengers may soon be treated to a murky algorithm when buying a ticket online. NDC, aka New Distribution Capability, sounds harmless enough. The truth is NDC relies on data mining to offer travelers fare “options” during ticket purchase. Aviation journalist Dan Reed points out that fares offered to passengers may soon automatically build into a package their known preferences on checked bags, seating, in-flight meals, ground transportation, hotel rooms and even retail purchases appropriate for the destination. For business travelers, any discounts negotiated by their employers could be applied automatically as well. Customizing the ticket purchase process and selling each traveler a unique set of services at a unique price could leave passengers without the foggiest notion of what fare they actually paid. Comparison shopping will be extremely difficult. Feeling the heat Lawmakers are taking notice of rising fees and have written to 11 carriers to express concern. In a letter, Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., along with Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., highlight the recent increases in checked-bag and cancellation fees. The letter implies that the fee increases seem to have little to do with the cost of the services provided but instead offset a recent rise in jet fuel costs. Most pointedtly, the senators claim these fee increases are arbitrary as airlines entice passengers with fares that do not reflect the actual price of travel. Markey, Blumenthal and Cohen go on to ask the airlines to provide their actual cost to get a piece of a luggage on an airplane at small, medium and large airports and to document rising costs from passenger cancellations. Finally, the lawmakers ask if airlines plan on raising fees further in the next three months. Stay tuned for the carriers’ response. We’ll keep an eye out for the big reveal and remind you to vote on fees with your wallet. Is there a plumber on board? Flushing a diaper down a toilet rapidly caused a situation aboard an American flight from Phoenix to Kona in Hawaii. With two hours left before landing, the only operational toilet at the front of the Boeing 757 was already overflowing and one passenger was told to use a plastic bag. American noted that because the flight was over the ocean, it could not follow company policy and divert to the nearest airport. All passengers were subsequently provided with 30,000 American AAdvantage miles, enough for a free roundtrip. Good luck cashing in any frequent flyer miles, we say. Hero of the week In a bit of good news, a captain at American Airlines recently provided stranded passengers with food. When American 2354 from LAX to DFW was rerouted to Wichita Falls because of thunderstorms, it left 159 passengers stranded until the next day. Capt. Jeff Raines ordered 40 pizzas and delivered them to the passengers himself. Bravo to Capt. Raines for going above and beyond the call of duty.

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