By Betty Price

Taken from a pricing concept of Air Canada, this new pricing tool for air travelers will tap into ways to earn additional revenues.  One major U.S. carrier anticipates earning as much as $700 million per year in additional fees to offset their increased expense to operate.

This pricing model could possibly include fees for booking online, purchasing beverage and food vouchers, advanced seating and earning frequent travel mileage.  As the economy continues to shift, many services the consumer took for granted are going to now have a price tag attached to them.

Yesterday a customer came into my office and requested a particular low cost carrier to travel to Chicago.  I advised the traveler that we would be more than happy to accommodate their wish, however there were other carriers that offered the same itinerary, with a change of planes, for about $125 less.  The customer was shocked. 

This particular carrier does not charge for checked luggage.  Instead they increased their airfares.  Some pundits felt that it might be better to increase the airfares rather than applying the nickel and dime approach.  One writer even joked that, who knows, they might start charging for passenger weight since they claim that the heavier the passenger, the more fuel is burned while flying.

Question:  Will this change when the fuel rates drop?  NO!