View out for flying expenses: WestJet hikes checked-bag price, Flair adds credit card fee

Here is the superior news: Airfares have declined in Canada. The bad information? You may well wind up shelling out extra in additional service fees.

WestJet and various U.S. airways a short while ago hiked their checked-bag rates. Discount provider Flair Airlines has raised some other fees, and extra a surcharge when customers pay out for their flight with a credit card. 

Airlines frequently say they “unbundle” fares so buyers only have to shell out for the include-ons they want.

“We preserve our fares as very low as achievable though offering you the flexibility to incorporate more companies,” Flair declares on its web page.

But some market specialists warn that if passengers usually are not watchful, they may perhaps wind up having to pay considerably a lot more than expected.

Airlines “definitely entice you with the low charge of the ticket … but then that very low price is not as very low as it seems with the ancillary costs,” stated Karl Moore, an associate professor at McGill College who reports the market. 

Passengers might “get caught with an additional $100 in fees they were not anticipating, which implies income for the airways,” he said. 

In accordance to Data Canada, airfares dropped 14.3 for each cent in 2023. Conversely, in the previous yr, airfares spiked by 13.7 for each cent. 

As airfares declined, WestJet introduced two checked-bag rate hikes. The airline now charges an added $5 for checked luggage for travel booked after Feb. 14. That suggests, for an overall economy fare obtained on the internet, passengers will pay between $35 and $42 for the first checked bag and concerning $55 and $65 for the 2nd.

The increase comes on the heels of a $10 hike WestJet launched four months in the past for passengers who choose to verify their bag with an agent at the airport.

The higher fees may irk passengers previously having difficulties with other rising prices, these as food and housing. 

“It can be just a distinct dollars seize,” stated Taryn Zielke of Regina who flies WestJet a few of moments a yr. 

“Did you have to raise the baggage fees by $5? Like, could you have not completed that?” she reported. “Likely not. But they did, since they could.”

WestJet spokesperson Julia Brunet told CBC Information in an email that baggage fees allow the airline to “maintain base fares decreased for all travellers.”

She stated the technique-wide $5 hike is WestJet’s 1st because 2018, and that travellers can stay away from baggage charges by paying for their flight with a WestJet RBC Mastercard, or by getting a pricier, flexible fare. 

Will Air Canada hike baggage service fees?

Many airways in the United States have also hiked their baggage expenses, including American Airlines and Alaska Airways which upped their first checked-bag charge from $30 to $35 US. American did not offer a purpose.

Alaska Airlines reported in an e-mail it wanted to modify its expenses to “navigate rising running fees – such as higher gasoline rates.”

1st checked-bag service fees at Air Canada however commence at $30, but Moore predicts the airline could adhere to match and raise the cost. 

“I would not be astonished if they did. It can be pretty, really tempting to them in fact,” he said.

In an e-mail to CBC News, Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick would only say the airline is “aware of these tendencies” and has designed no recent variations to its baggage procedures. 

Enjoy | Lynx Air ceases operations: 

Lynx Air to stop functions Monday, but some passengers by now stranded

Lower-price airline Lynx Air suggests it will stop functions as of Monday, but travellers are previously getting impacted as some flights have been cancelled. It is the latest price cut airline that has been unable to continue to be in small business in Canada.

Flair Airways also a short while ago raised some charges. As a result of an net archive look for, CBC Information discovered that someday after June 8, the airline increased the charge to e-book or change a flight about the cellular phone from $15 to $25.

The airline also upped its flight improve and cancellation costs. For case in point, the price to transform a flight a week or a lot more just before departure has jumped 155 per cent to $74 from $29.

Aptitude also additional a processing cost of 1.4 to 2. for every cent when travellers pay by credit card. The airline did not reply to requests for remark. 

Anshul Singh, founder of travel and loyalty-program internet site Points, Miles and Bling, says he applauds the airways for staying upfront about their fees, which are plainly laid out on their web sites.

“Unbundled pricing versions provide a great deal of flexibility and predictability for travellers that know precisely what they are hunting for,” he said. 

However, suggests Singh, the myriad of included charges makes it hard for passengers to store about and make sure they are finding the most effective offer. 

“Normally, people add-on charges are not readily readily available up entrance, in particular when you might be evaluating pricing,” he explained. “I think it truly is quite unfair to be expecting the shoppers to kind of continue to keep a tackle on all of these cost alterations and make absolutely sure that they are performing their value comparisons in a rational way.”

Moore claimed the finest way for passengers to make certain they are obtaining the very best deal is to stay clear of having to pay for upgrades. So he recommends packing your individual meals, and travelling only with a have-on bag. Even so, if you happen to be traveling a low cost airline these types of as Aptitude, you will be charged for any have-on that are unable to in good shape less than the seat.