4/1/2010 2:50 PM

Great article on Travel Mole about current airfare prices

"For many US cities, the price to fly is dropping. On paper, at least, but are they really?

One example: round-trip fares out of Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) International Airport fell 15 percent from 2000 to last year, and more than 30 percent between 2008 and 2009.

The problem: any money saved on airfare has been gobbled up by escalating fees that airlines are now charging for items that were once free as they've tried to cope with the travel slowdown, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

In the first three quarters of 2009, Northwest Airlines took in nearly $206 million in baggage fees. Delta charged passengers $350 million, more than double from the year before. For all airlines, passengers shelled out nearly $2 billion for baggage and $1.8 billion to change tickets.

With many heading out for spring break this week or looking at summer travel plans, experts predict airfares will start to inch back up, partly because of pent-up demand. But fees will continue.

"The fare that you see may be lower than it was two or three years ago. But the actual amount of money that you're going to pay is higher and sometimes considerably higher, especially if you're traveling with your family," said consumer travel expert Chris Elliott.

With the fees here to stay, he said the next issue is disclosure. "Can an airline or online travel agency still quote a low 'base' fare minus taxes and mandatory charges, duping passengers into making a purchasing decision -- or should it disclose all of your costs upfront?" he asked.

Nationally, airfares are dropping, down nine percent since 2000 and 14 percent between the third quarters of 2008 and 2009, the most recent time frame available.

Capacity cuts -- which have airlines flying smaller and fewer planes on certain routes -- were supposed to bring prices up. But business travel blogger Joe Brancatelli said the lack of demand is keeping prices down.

"The only thing that drives fares up is whether people want to buy [tickets]. It doesn't matter whether you have one seat of 100 seats," he said, referring to the airlines' cuts.

But all in all, he said, many people chose not to fly because of "hideous security rules, uncomfortable airline flights, nasty airline policies. So suddenly that driving trip to Montana is looking pretty good."

Elliott agreed, saying it's the consumer who sets fares. "For the last two years, we've just said: ‘We chose not to fly.’"

Minneapolis travel expert Terry Trippler said one reason fares have dropped is that travelers are switching -- and staying -- with the low-cost carriers. "A lot of business travelers are saying we're not going to take that $1,200 fare," he said."