Airlines' New Business Model: Make Profits by Charging Fees

As though it weren't bad enough that TSA agents get paid for feeling your body, now the airlines have gone over-the-top in inventing new fees, according to a USA today article.

For an overweight checked bag weighing 71-100 pounds, Continental Airlines is charging $400 on most international flights, and American Airlines is charging $450 on its Asian flights. United Airlines charges $400 for checking bags weighing 71-99.9 pounds on flights to another continent.

Those are the most expensive fees that airlines charge fliers, a new USA TODAY survey of what 13 U.S. carriers charge for services available to coach passengers has found. The survey also found... The airlines claim that "fees keep airfares low, help cover costs and let fliers choose the services they want." Another article in the same source says that U.S. airlines raked in a record $1.38 billion in the first quarter of this year just to check baggage and change reservations.