To fly for holidays, it'll cost extra

You could end up paying even more for flying on some of the busiest travel days of the year. And if you haven't bought tickets for the forthcoming holidays, it's probably time to pull the trigger.

Four of the largest U.S. airlines — American, Delta, United and US Airways — have slapped $10 surcharges on fares for weekends after Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

The extra charge applies to "the vast majority" of fares for flights on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, and on Jan. 2 and 3, wrote Graeme Wallace of the online travel agency FareCompare.com in an e-mail.

Travelers traditionally pay more to fly on holiday weekends, particularly the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving, usually the two busiest travel days of the year.

"It seems clear this move by the airlines represents an entirely new fee-setting opportunity,'' Wallace wrote. "(Airlines) have now upped the ante by determining that certain peak travel days are worth an additional passenger-paid premium.''

American Airlines said the surcharge wasn't a fee but the kind of fare change that carriers make every day.

"Holiday travel periods have always had times of peaks and valleys in customer demand,'' American spokesman Tim Smith said. "This is nothing more, nothing less, than a different way to file fare changes that affect very specific, narrowly defined days where we expect to see high demand.''

Unlike the wave of fees airlines imposed or increased in the last year, surcharges aren't optional. They're included in the total cost of a ticket that customers see before buying, Smith said.

With fewer passengers flying and overall fares going down, airlines rely on fees — for services like checking bags, changing a ticket or reserving a seat — to offset some of their financial losses. Fees generated $3.8 billion for U.S. carriers in the first six months of 2009, up from $2.3 billion for the first half of 2009, the government reported.

Regardless of how anyone defines it, the charge shows holiday flights will likely get more expensive going forward, said Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare. Last-minute shoppers scooped up bargains for the holidays last year as the recession kept many travelers home. But with airlines cutting flights to match demand, that's not likely this time, Seaney said.

"Last year, the procrastinators won, but not this year," he said.

Steve Huettel can be reached at shuettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.