Survey: Airline execs see more fees coming

A survey of some 140 airline executives worldwide, reported in the trade publication Aviation Week, indicates that the trend toward “unbundling” air fares hasn’t yet run its course. The poll indicated that paying for in-flight entertainment could be the next big thing, with 19 percent of the respondents saying their companies currently charge for using it, while 33 percent said their airlines plan to begin imposing a fee. The majority (52 percent) said their companies currently assess a fee for using telephone reservations centers, while 28 percent said they plan to start charging for that service. Ranking third on the list of fees most likely to be assessed was a charge for getting a pre-assigned premium seat, such as an exit row, or for pre-assigned seats in general. Some 29 percent said they currently charge for pre-assigned premium seats, while 13 percent do so for all pre-assigned seating. Least likely to be affected, the publication said, is checked luggage; only eight percent said their airlines currently charge a fee for checking a bag, and another eight percent said they expect their companies are likely to do so in the future.