Interesting Read About The Current State Of Airlines

There's a news report out today about the $3.4 billion airlines collected just with baggage fees in 2010, up a staggering 24% from 2009. Add in reservation change fees and that number jumps to $5.7 billion, not to mention the dozens of other ancillary fees not included in those figures. In fact, fees alone made up more than 80% of the $2.6 billion in profits that the industry eked out in 2010, after years of record losses. So why, with oil prices high but not nearly at 2008 levels, are airlines predicting major losses again for 2011?

The blog at Airfarewatchdog takes an interesting look at the industry today versus the 1970s and offers some reminders as to how we got into this current predicament. We all feel nickel-and-dimed nowadays when we head to the airport, but it may surprise you just how much we're actually paying in inflation-adjusted terms.