Airlines increase peak travel day fees for all of summer travel

With the expected increase in demand for summer travel, airlines are taking advantage of this by adding more fees to your summer airfares. Airfare prices have already increased over this time last year and now it seems the fees are increasing as well.

Between June 10 and August 22 of this year, peak travel surcharges will apply to 73 of the 74 days. The only day not included is July 4, one of the slowest travel days in the summer. Right now, the five major airlines (American, Delta, Continental, United, and US Airways) are charging anywhere from $10 - $30 each way for their flights.

Peak day travel fees - the evolution

To see how these fees peak travel day fees have taken off, check how quickly the fees and the dates for these expanded.

The idea for peak travel day fees started back in October 2009 as airlines selected certain dates in 2009 as peak travel days and expanded this for some days in 2010 (Airlines charge fees to fly on busy days and holidays). In early November, the peak travel day fees were increased and expanded for 2010 into April and May (Airlines boost fees again for traveling on busy days and holidays). Finally, November saw another increase in the fees and the addition of more dates (Airlines increase peak day travel charges again for 2010 travel). Now, the peak travel day fees apply to almost every travel day during the summer vacation period.

The costs and impact on passengers

The reason for expanding these fees is to keep the cost of the airline ticket down. It's a tricky way for many of the airlines to add fees for travelers - many of which may come as unexpected surprises. For the airlines, Tuesdays and Wednesdays have fees around $10 as these are the least busy days of the week. For Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday, the fees increase to $20. Sunday travel is the most expensive day at $30 for most of the airlines.

For a family traveling on vacation, this could mean as much as $60 per person extra for a flight if they leave on a Sunday and come back on a Sunday. The airlines like to use these fees as a way to keep prices lower when reporting fares for comparison. This summer could mean a huge cost burden for people traveling on the major airlines.

Not all hope is lost in that budget airlines like Southwest and Jet Blue offer no surcharges for any of their flights or checked baggage fees for at least the first bag. While fares for these airlines have increased recently as well, flying on these airlines is going to mean a much lower cost for travelers this summer.

An expensive summer travel season

Already seeing increased airfare for travel, passengers are now going to have to deal with another fee for this summer. While 2009 saw the introduction of peak travel days fees, this was initially limited to certain days. The key to budget travel is to plan in advance. When it occurs to family trips, globetrotting, well-deserved holidays and/or going to see new locations we have never been before, the fact of cost and budgeting is always in the back of our thoughts. Preparation and consuming our travel budget carefully is a concern for most families. Lowering spending and costs, while still savoring your vacation to its fullest, is the key to confirmed achievements and fiscal liability. Your pocketbook and family will thank you! The thinking behind economizing money while vacationing is simple: Even if your personal budget is incredibly small, you can still take a break and enjoy life! Simply put, life is just too short to never step out of the door or leaving the homestead! Also remembering that while traveling, no matter whether on a resources or not, even the smallest of things can all add op to a big vacation or travel bill!. Now that this has been expanded to nearly every travel day during the summer, airlines are seeking to make more money off of passengers in light of an expected increase in summer travel.

Where will this madness end? As noted last week, airline travel doesn't look to get cheaper or easier for passengers. Remember that flying this summer will mean far more in costs than just the price of an airline ticket. Airline fees and airfares are on the rise.

Here is some great information from farecompare.com including a great chart for tracking the costs of flying for each day of the summer and on holidays for 2010 and 2011 for each of the airlines.

www.farecompare.com/articles/peak-travel-surcharge-updates/

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