Airlines with the cheapest fees for 6 popular upgrades

Air travel has never been free, but there was a time not so long ago when the purchase of a plane ticket was the only expense we had to worry about if we wanted to fly somewhere. Beyond that, airlines were content to charge you for your seat and leave it at that.

Nowadays, more and more air carriers are happy to charge us fees (and keep some secret) for all the extras that were once complimentary on a flight. Got extra or slightly overweight baggage? Need some legroom? Thirsty for another in-flight cocktail, or just want a pillow and blanket? Then there’s the on-board Wi-Fi and internet. Short of charging for the restroom (not uncharted territory, either), flying today includes a fee for everything. All of these amenities combined can cost us nearly the price of an additional ticket.

In 2012, Americans spent $72 billion on holiday travel expenses — $14 billion for Thanksgiving and $58 billion for Christmas, according to Hotwire’s American Travel Behavior Survey — and there’s no doubt that the obligatory fees we’re paying play a part. If you’ll be flying to see family or friends this holiday season, click through to see some of the most affordable fees we’ve compiled by category and their major airline carriers.

Baggage Fees

• First checked bag: Free: JetBlue, Southwest
• Second checked bag: Free, Southwest
• Third checked bag: $25, Virgin America
• Overweight bags: Spirit, $25 for 41 to 50 lbs., $50 for 51 to 70 lbs.; Continental, $50 for 51 to 70 lbs.; Virgin America, $50 for 51 to 70 lbs.; Hawaiian, $25 for 51 to 70 lbs.

Passenger Fees

• Unaccompanied minors: $25 (ages 5 to 17), Alaska; $50 (ages 5 to 11), Southwest
• Pets: $75, Frontier

Food Fees

• Snacks: Free, AirTran, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest
• Meals: Free to $10, Hawaiian; $1 to $15, Spirit; $3 to $7, Air Canada; $4 to $12, JetBlue; $4.99 to $8.59, U.S. Airways

Seating Fees

• Extra legroom: $10 to $70, JetBlue; $15, Frontier
• Seat selection/upgrades: $1 to $50, Spirit; $10 and up, AirTran; $10 to $40, Air Canada

Ticketing Fees

• Non-refundable ticket change: Free, Southwest; $30 to $200, Hawaiian; $75, Frontier

Wi-Fi Fees

According to LifeHacker, most domestic airlines, including Virgin America, AirTran, Delta, Southwest, US Airways, United, American, Air Canada, Alaska and JetBlue charge between $4.95 and $11.95 for Wi-Fi on mobile devices. The same airlines average $11 to $49 for laptop/tablet Wi-Fi. Some airlines offer unlimited Wi-Fi passes, like American, which charges frequent fliers $49.95 per month.

How Much do Fees Benefit Airlines?

Airline carriers stand to make billions of dollars a year in extra fees, even when their fees are priced reasonably low.

According to Ashlee Kieler of the Consumerist, a recent U.S. Department of Treasury report revealed that in the first three quarters of last year, airlines across the U.S. earned $2.5 billion in baggage fees. In 2012, they brought in $3.5 billion.

During the same time frame, airlines brought in a slightly lower $2.1 billion in reservation change fees — $2.7 billion in 2012.

In typical capitalist fashion, airlines are doing what other businesses do on a regular basis: charge customers prices inflated higher than the costs to produce their goods. Airlines originally prompted the fee rage in 2008 when they began charging passengers $25-per-bag luggage fees; “Airlines justified the new fee by telling consumers the money was being used to pay for the jet fuel used to transport the bag,” Kieler wrote.

But it turns out that it only costs an airline $2 to transport your suitcase, not $25, according to the Detroit Free Press. That’s $23 in the pockets of airlines, more for carriers whose luggage check fees are costlier (American Airlines, for example, levies a $150 fee for every third piece of luggage checked in by each passenger).

There’s also no such thing as affordable fees on international flights. According to USA Today, Delta penalizes passengers as much as $400 for last-minute changes to an itinerary, and American charges up to $450 for checking in some overweight bags.

What can consumers do to avoid these expenses this holiday season? Carefully choose airlines with the most reasonable fees and make travel plans in advance to avoid any costly reservation changes. Strategize your winter travel plans by venturing to popular U.S. cities that are more affordable, but no less fun or luxurious. And offset potential fees by opening special holiday or vacation club accounts through your local bank or credit union — the dividends you earn will be “savings specific” toward your next travel plans.