Ten Ways to Avoid New Airline Fees

Most of us have watched over recent months as airlines have begun imposing fees on items that have heretofore been free. Some airlines are now charging you to check even one bag. Most are charging for in-flight meals, and some even for non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water. Some airlines charge you if you want to reserve a window seat or an aisle seat... the list goes on.

I first noticed these on discount airlines like Spirit, about whom I've written often on the blog. I didn't mind it with them so much since they were a discount airline, and I figured the airfares were low enough that the add-ons still kept the whole deal as a bargain. But now the practice of charging these extra fees has been spreading to the major airlines.

For an upcoming trip in Europe we used flylc.com (see my blog post about them) to find some discount travel between various European cities and were dismayed at all the extra fees. We were able to trim some by making arrangements in a way that lets us leave some of our baggage at someone's home so we can make our intra-Europe travel with less baggage and check just one bag.

We booked an upcoming trip in the U.S. and were able to find a carrier that doesn't charge for the first bag to be checked, so that was a bit of savings.

But I just ran across an article originally written by the people at Sherman's Travel and published on msn.com that lists ten ways to avoid some of these new fees.

Here's a summary of their tips:
1. Get a lightweight carry-on bag and carry on all your items if possible
2. Check any bags wisely to avoid any overweight fees
3. Join frequent flyer clubs -- elite members may waive baggage fees
4. Don't pay premium for your seat type; check-in on-line 24 hours ahead
5. Pack comfort items such as neck pillows, and bring a sweater
6. Bring your own headphones
7. Bring some items to eat
8. Pleasantly complain about the charge for a soft drink; they may waive it
9. See if your hotel will reimburse you for airline bag-check fees
10. Fly Southwest which is still abstaining from fees like these.

I wrote a blog post a while back about traveling in more comfort using some carry-on items like noise-canceling headphones, a comfortable eye patch, neck pillow and the First Class Sleeper inflatable seat pillow. They really help make it through some coach travel with less aggravation.

If you'd like to read the whole Sherman's article at msn.com, here's the link.