Airline Fees: The Only Way Is Up

US airline fees are increasing – some by more than 50% since a year ago.

Unfortunately this is no big surprise. Baggage fees etc. are here to stay. During the past decade, the global airline industry has collectively lost almost $50 billion, so America has looked to the airlines that have made money.

Leader of the pack is the European based RyanAir, which has turned itself from a tiny regional airline into a serious power player. In the past 10 years it has generated net profits in 9 of those years and in the last financial year earned $431 million. It was of course RyanAir with its charismatic Michael O’Leary at the helm who introduced the concept of so many of these fees. He’s now all for bringing in a standing cabin and charging for use of the toilet.

And you thought airline travel was going down the toilet? It has only just begun…!