Airline Fees: Dozens Of New Charges Added For 2013

Contributed by the Huffington Post.

Airlines have added more than 50 new fees over the past year, new data from the website TravelNerd show.

The finance-oriented site found dozens of "direct fee increases" on already existing charges, as well as 28 new baggage-related fees levied in January 2013 compared to January 2012.

The fees add an estimated $36.1 billion annually to airlines' bottom lines, according to TravelNerd.

Increasing fees for the same service are a big part of the uptick. For example, Spirit Airlines' premium seat fee, which was $25-$75, is now as much as $199 depending on the flight.

The only good news, TravelNerd reports, is that the increases are generally modest. "The majority of fee increases were within $5-$10," the site writes.

While some fees are nearly unavoidable, travelers can prepare for them. A newly released Airfarewatchdog super-survey of U.S. airlines' charges is a good place to start.