Airlines rake in $5.3 BILLION a year from baggage charges alone trends now
The airline industry has never been under more pressure to scrap its rip-off 'junk fees' after the President pledged a crackdown on the practice that squeezes $5.3 billion out of passengers every year.
Overweight luggage fines, seat selection charges and fees for printing boarding passes are all among the cynical tricks used by firms.
'We will prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families just to sit together,' Biden announced during his State of the Union address last month.
It comes as Frontier Airlines was forced to reveal it gives staff $10 bonuses every time they succeed in charging customers extra if their carry-on luggage is too big.
Passengers were forced to fork out $5.3 billion in baggage fees alone last year, according to figures from the Transport Department. Meanwhile aviation firms raked in a further $700 million in cancellation and flight change charges.
Here Dailymail.com takes a look at the worst ways greedy airlines rack up the cost of your family holiday...
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MISLEADING ADVERTISED PRICE
A key part of Biden's plan is to look at the ways airlines and booking site add on extra charges beyond the advertised price.
Customers are often promised a headline sum for a flight only to find the true cost is hundreds of dollars more expensive due to additional fees such as luggage.
And the costs can rise with every piece of luggage the passenger wants to take.
To make the issue even more confusing, there is little consistency between airlines with the cost of baggage varying wildly.
For example, American Airlines charges $30 for the first bag for a passenger on a domestic flight. However this rises to $200 for bag number four.
Meanwhile JetBlue charges $35 for the first bag, $45 for a second and $150 for the third.
There is little consistency between airlines with the cost of baggage varying wildly
OVERSIZED CARRY-ON FINES
Most airlines offer one free carry-on item, which some customers use as their sole luggage for a short trip.
However a decade ago many started to slap fines on passengers whose carry-on exceeds requirements and cannot be slotted into the cabin hold.
The fine covers the cost of placing the bag into storage along with the other paid-for suitcases.
But consumers have long been suspicious that staff enforce the rules too strictly and often fine passengers whose bags would easily fit in the requirements.
Reports that Frontier Airlines staff are given a
