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Airline Introduces Boarding Pass Fee

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MICHELE NORRIS, host:

This next story falls in the what-will-they-do-next category. When you fly there are already fees for picking a good seat, fees for a pillow or a blanket, fees for a snack. Now one low cost airline is introducing a new fee for your boarding pass.

This fall, Florida-based Spirit Airlines, will charge you $5 if you have an agent print your boarding pass at the airport, rather than printing it yourself at home. It's the first carrier in the U.S. to do so, but will it be the last?

Well, for more on this and other fees we might be seeing soon, we're joined by Rick Seaney. He's a regular observer of the airline industry. He's the CEO of Farecompare.com. That's a web site that allows you to comparison shop.

Welcome back to the show.

Mr. RICK SEANEY (CEO, FareCompare.com): Great to be on.

NORRIS: Now, we should say that Spirit Airlines says that by charging the $5 boarding pass fee, they plan to lower fares on their non-stop flights by $5.

Mr. SEANEY: No. Absolutely, they're saying that. But in general what happens was our ally and ticket prices, they vary wildly based on when you buy. So it's hard to say that they are dropping everything by exactly $5. But they're making a motions that they're going to do that.

NORRIS: Now, Spirit Airlines prides itself on allowing customers to pay for the extras you want, claiming that gives you a lower fare. Last year, they were the first airline in the U.S. to charge a fee for carry-ons. They're known for breaking new ground.

Mr. SEANEY: Yeah, this is part of their brand. You know, their CEO has said in the past, look, you know, we're not for everybody - if you don't like to pay fees, then don't fly on us, basically.

NORRIS: Every time I hear about one of these fees, I wonder what's coming next. Are their fees that are in the pipeline that we should brace for?

Mr. SEANEY: Well, you know they had some fees they tried that they pulled back, that didn't go over, like charging for drinks in the water. US Airways tried that. United tried to charge for meals on international flights of eight hours or more. They had to pull back those fees.

I think those fees could come back. But as long as oil prices stay under $100 a barrel, I don't think they are going to dip their toe much in.

Understanding Airline Ticket Prices: Why Your Seatmate's Airfare ...

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Anyone who has ever shopped for cheap airline tickets is acutely aware that when you buy an airline ticket, you may pay hundreds of dollars more – or less – than someone purchasing an airline ticket for the very same flight.

Does this make sense? Well, think of it this way: you’re shopping for a sweater, and you happen to make your purchase at Macy’s during a big sale. You choose the same sweater your Uncle Mike bought the week before, only he paid twice the price you did. Same with airfare, right?

Not exactly. Nothing is simple when it comes to finding cheap airline tickets.

In fact, airlines hire armies (well, at least squads) of computer geeks to work with complex software with one goal in mind: to maximize the profit on every seat – on every plane – on every route .

We shouldn’t begrudge airlines for this behavior; I mean, it just makes sense from a business perspective–prices soar for airline tickets during peak air travel periods based on the fundamental supply-and-demand principle. Even the kids in my neighborhood know this: during those scorchers in August, they charge twice the price for lemonade on our cul-de-sac in Dallas as they charge in March.

My theory is, the more you know about how the airline ticket system works, the more you can make that system work for you . Call it “gaming the system” if you will, but to me it’s a matter of good quality research – plus using simple tools – that leads to great airline ticket buying decisions .