Airlines made $44.6 billion in extra fees: Airlines rake it in charging for ‘extras’ - TomoNews

THE FRIENDLY SKIES — The world's greediest and biggest airlines raked in around $44.6 billion in passenger fees and commissions last year. Some budget airlines get over half their total revenue from charges for bags, food, entertainment and other extras — aka — things that used to come with your flight. Airlines around the world are increasingly making more and more money from fees, frequent flier programs and commissions for directing customers to hotels and car rental companies, according to a new study from IdeaWorksCompany, the LA Times reported. The $44.6 billion bamboozled by the 66 biggest airlines was a 10% increase over 2015, according to the study. Over the past 10 years, airlines have increasingly turned to charging you for stuff that used to come with your flight. The biggest airlines made an estimated 9.7% of their revenue from B.S. charges. Budget airlines derived an even bigger chunk of their cash from fees and commissions. For example, Spirit Airlines was at 46.7% while Frontier Airlines was at 42.4%. Spirit actually charges you for almost 40 different extras, such as 2 buck to print a boarding pass at an airport kiosk and up to $50 to choose a seat. Word is, Spirit is looking into getting passengers to pay extra for engines and even pilots. Okay, maybe not. But who knows. Anyone know when that Hyperloop gets finished?