Ridiculous International Travel Fees

Above, the entrance to the Broadway Mall in Nakano,
Tokyo.  Wouldn't you rather spend your money here
instead of on the outrageous fees the airlines charge?
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although oil prices have been creeping down, the airlines are still charging ridiculous fees for overweight and oversized baggage.  Along with that, some even charge (get this) $107 for printing a boarding pass (the average charge is $10)!

Booking by phone and changing tickets are two more examples at how some airlines will gouge the traveling consumer.

While these fees are bad enough on domestic routes, international flights are much worse.

Moneytalksnews.com has an article that is useful in keeping yourself from being gouged at the ticket gate at the airport.

They begin with:

When you’re traveling abroad, there are lots of things to worry about — safety, language barriers, not getting food poisoning — so getting slammed with an extra $750 in airline baggage fees shouldn’t be one of them. 

If you pick the wrong airline and fail to read the fine print, you could rack up hundreds of dollars in unexpected fees and kiss your travel budget goodbye. 

TravelNerd recently released a report on absurd fees collected by airlines for international travel, like a $150 fee for checking a bag 1 pound over the weight limit, or a $25 fee for booking via phone.

The TravelNerd article is one that should probably be permanently bookmarked as a handy reference when you are purchasing your airline tickets so you can avoid airlines who are the worst offenders.

They have great tips on avoiding fees and they do point out the airlines who are reasonable in their baggage policies:

Fee-weary travelers may rejoice when they find that most international flights allow one free checked bag. However, baggage fees for the second checked bag are much higher than baggage fees on domestic flights. Domestic flights typically charge around $50 for a second checked bag. On international flights, the second checked bag starts at $75 for short-haul flights, and baggage fees on long-haul international flights will set travelers back $100 – $200 per bag. Prices hike up even further with the third checked bag. Prices for additional checked baggage start at $100 and easily rise to $250 per bag. There is some hope: most Asian carriers, like ANA, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, allow two free checked bags for every passenger.

Wouldn't you rather spend your hard-earned dollars on enjoyable things (such as souvenirs, meals, activities, etc.) instead of enriching the air carriers?

Notice that ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Singapore Airlines (both are carriers to Japan) allow two free checked bags for every passenger?

To read more, go here.