Airlines are sticking it to passengers all the way around these days. Baggage fees seem to be here to stay, seats in coach are shrinking in size, and some airlines are booting off passengers for even thinking about possibly getting sick. On top of all that, there is something super-sneaky going on in the fine print of the “fees” that some airlines (Delta/Northwest, I’m talking to you) are charging on top of normal ticketing prices.
First there was the โholiday fee,โ and now it seems there is the random-whenever-I-want โPeak Travel Dayโ fee. This bogus โPeak Travel Dayโ fee will not show up named as such, but it will be folded into the price of your ticket. There are now 30 of these PTDโs in 2010, with fees ranging in cost from $10 for peak travel days like March 7-8 for the Oscars, and $50 for peak travel day February 8 for the Super Bowl. Note: it doesnโt matter if youโre traveling because of these events or not, the prices stand higher. Other peak days like March 14 ($30) donโt seem to make much sense, unless theyโre counting the annual Portland Curry Festival as a bang-up event. Next thing you know the airline industry will be in cahoots with Hallmark creating new fake holidays to jack up prices around. The tiny silver lining to this phony fee is the fact that theyโre published, allowing savvy fliers to avoid the days, or at least decide that itโs worth it to travel on the peak days. For those of you on a budget, stick to flying on off-peak days in general, which tends to be Tuesdays and Wednesdays.