The fees are the cost of the flight. This would be like a restaurant listing the power, staffing, storage space, accounting, inspection, and all the other costs to make food separately on your receipt.
Well, half of it is a "carrier interface charge" - basically, you're paying to buy online. Fees are taxed differently, but they have to be optional. If you buy at an airport, they don't charge it.
Wait so if you go to the airport without planning for a flight in advance it’s cheaper? I mean seems kinda like a very cross your fingers way of traveling. However could be fun if cost reduction is significant and going on a common flight route.
No, if you find a flight you like and, instead of putting your credit card information right there, you drive to the airport, pay for parking, wait in line at the ticket counter, tell the agent you want to buy that itinerary you just found online, argue with them when they say they can't/won't so it because it's freaking Frontier, pay for your ticket, walk 10 minutes back to your car in the parking ramp, pay for your hour of parking, and drive home.
Probably not worth it for a single person/purchase, but if it's charged per person, per direction (I think it is but not sure) and you're paying for your whole family it may be worth it.
I haven't done it in decades, so I don't know if it's changed, but there used to be an option called flying standby. You'd buy a ticket without a seat assigned, and you'd just go to the gate and wait to see if a flight went to your destination with an empty seat you could claim. It was cheaper, but no guarantee of getting a flight.
That reminds me that I'll probably be flying back to the Bay Area on my employer's dime in a couple months ... and I do have a decent life insurance policy through them ... at least my wife will be able to live out the rest of her life in comfort
Maybe your employer is better than mine, but I've never had a policy provided that was more than a year or two of salary. Not exactly 'living comfortably' when she's have to figure out how to go from a stay at home mom to making what I make a decade into my career....
I have a conference to go to next month, and I really need these planes to stop crashing between now and then or my wife won't let me go.
Uh oh. Just realized I left myself wide open for some Monkey Paw shit. I really need these planes to stop crashing between now and THE TIME I SAFELY GET BACK HOME FROM THE CONFERENCE.
I’m not sure how that maths out. Last time I booked a ticket (sadly a few days ago), it was a round trip with one connection each way, so 4 flights. It was an extra $600 for first class, so $150 per flight. The planes were around the 20 seats in first class size and that’d be $3k… it’s hard to say that the $3k was the bulk of the income there.
Ah, the playing of numbers. They could really spin this any way they want. The best way is to say the fee is the fee, and if it's too much then don't pay it. The purpose is to attempt to point the finger at all the other bullshit.