Delta Eliminates Some Fees, Raises Some Fees
Nov 5th, 2008 | By Jared BlankAs part of its integration with Northwest, Delta is changing some of its fees — you’ll be happy to know they are actually eliminating some:
- No more curbside check-in fees ($3 in your pocket)
- No more fuel surcharges on award tickets (up to $100 in your pocket)
- Reducing telephone booking fee to $20 from $25 ($5 in your pocket)
- Adding a first checked bag fee ($15 from your pocket). However, elite members and business class customers get free checked baggage.
Nice that they’re getting rid of the nuisance fees and it’s not particularly surprising that they’re adding a first checked bag fee.
Keep in mind, I predict that within 18 months airlines will move to an Air Canada-type fee structure where you’ll start with a base fare that just gets you a seat, and you’ll pay to add additional perks on top of that (frequent flyer miles, checked bags, meals, etc).
Within 18 months, airlines are going to have to start cutting fares if they want customers. $500 to fly home for Christmas? No thanks — with gas at 2.50 I’ll drive.
[...] Fellow BoardingArea blogger Jared Blank also provided his insight on this one. « BA Introduces Mobile [...]