Airlines Add Fees _ And Some Fees On Top Of Fees

JOSHUA FREED

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As if charging $15 to check a bag weren't enough, two airlines are asking for $5 more beginning this summer if you pay at the check-in counter — a fee on top of a fee.

Of course, you could always pay your baggage fee from home. The airlines call it the "online discount."

If airlines can get away with that, what's next? Rather than raise fares in the middle of a recession, they're piling on fees to make money — fees for bags, fees to get through the line faster, even fees for certain seats.

United Airlines alone expects to rake in more than $1 billion this year in fees ranging from baggage to accelerated frequent-flier awards. That's more than 5 percent of its revenue.

The most likely new fees are those that some airline, somewhere, has tried. Fees usually originate with one or two airlines, and competitors watch to see whether passengers accept them or revolt. For instance:

— US Airways and United are hitting passengers up for $5 to pay their baggage fees at the airport instead of online. United implemented the fee June 10, while US Airways will put it into effect July 9.