Be True to Your T&E Budget – Factor in the Fees!!

As we all travel for events and site inspections on a regular basis, the old ways of calculating T&E don’t work anymore. Fees can account for up to 50% or more of your actual ticket costs and those need to be figured into bids or quotes to clients or into your own T&E budgets.

Here are the steps to take to avoid fees:

• Book direct with the airline and book online (savings: $6-$25)
• Don’t choose a seat at booking, but check in online as early as possible to pick your seat for free (savings: $5-$20)
• Don’t change your flight plans (savings: $75-$100)
• Walk your bags into the airport terminal yourself (savings: $2-4 per bag)
• Take carry-on luggage only and check-in early – also picking a seat in the back or middle of the plane will give you best chance of finding space in the overhead bins (savings: $15-$25)
• If you check luggage, check only one piece per person and make sure that it doesn’t go over 50 lbs!! Only pack what you need and figure on wearing some things twice (savings: $50-$125)
• Pack a snack and a pillow/blanket and buy water or beverage in the terminal (savings: $3-25)
  
  
  Airfare represents a mere fraction of the total cost to fly these days. From the time you walk into the terminal until the plane lands, your total fare will surpass the quote you received from your favorite travel site when you booked the flight. "Every week, it's a different airline and a different fee," says Anne Banas, executive editor for travel advice site SmarterTravel.com. Blame it on sky-high fuel costs, which have sparked billion-dollar losses industrywide. (Only Southwest Airlines, which locked in fuel prices eight years ago, remains comparatively fee-free.)
  Looking for ways to make up for those losses -- without scaring off customers by raising fares -- airlines now charge for the most basic amenities. "We are truly going to an a-la-carte system," says Tom Parsons, CEO of discount airfares site BestFares.com. "It's down to the nickel and dime from here on out."

For consumers, the best defense is to factor in the fees each airline charges when comparing fares, Banas says. Here are seven instances in which fees are assessed:

Booking
Except for Southwest, every major airline charges a fee to book a flight over the phone. The worst offenders are Delta Air Lines, Frontier and United Airlines, which charge $25 per ticket. Third-party travel sites like Expedia and Orbitz charge between $6 and $12 per ticket for online booking. To avoid these fees, book directly on an airline's Web site, says George Hobica, publisher of fare-tracking site AirfareWatchdog.com.

Redeeming frequent-flier miles
"Some people have been collecting miles for years, and now they have to pay extra to use them," Parsons says. US Airways charges $25 to $40 for you to book a flight using frequent-flier miles. American Airlines charges $5. As of Oct. 1, the airline is charging new fees for rewards upgrades ($50 to upgrade from coach to first class on a domestic flight, for instance) and higher mile requirements (a round-trip ticket to Europe costs 20,000 more miles). Worse, it's extremely tough for frequent fliers to redeem their miles now that airlines are cutting back on flights, Parsons says.

Choosing a seat
Opt to stretch out in an exit row, and it'll cost you. AirTran charges a flat $20 for those seats, while United charges anywhere from $14 to $109 per flight. Even if you aren't angling for extra legroom, you can get charged just for choosing a seat. Spirit now assesses a $15 fee to passengers who choose a window seat, $10 for an aisle and $5 for one in the middle.

Changing a ticket
Southwest is the only airline that doesn't charge domestic ticket holders for altering an itinerary. Change a flight on any other airline, and you can expect to pay a fee ranging from $75 (Alaska Airlines, for online changes) to $150 (American, Continental, United and US Airways).

Curbside baggage check
Don't feel like rolling your suitcases inside the terminal? It'll cost you. Northwest and US Airways charge $2 per bag for curbside check-in. Delta charges $3.

Checking bags
When it comes to checking luggage, it's now a virtual fee-for-all, Banas warns. American, Northwest, United and US Airways all charge $15 for the first checked bag. And while Delta announced it would stand firm against invoking such a fee, it has doubled charges for a second checked bag to $50. Think you can avoid the second-bag fee by stuffing everything into one case? That may end up costing even more. Going just 1 pound over the 50-pound limit triggers an overweight fee of $29 (AirTran) to $125 (United).

In-flight amenities
Forget about relaxing with a soft pillow and a cold drink. Only a few holdouts, including Continental and JetBlue, offer free drinks and snacks anymore. US Airways, for example, now charges $2 for nonalcoholic drinks. And be prepared to get hit in other ways. Want a pillow and blanket on your JetBlue flight? That'll be $7.