Clark Howard's Tips

May 2, 2006

As we move into the summer travel season, you may be in for a shock when it comes to airfares. Specifically, we're talking about junk fees.

Often, the fare you see advertised is not anywhere near what you'll pay for travel. That's because of junk fees.

So, what are junk fees? There are all of the government and airport fees added on to the price. For example, a fare to Edinburgh Scotland is listed at $599, which seems reasonable. Yet, by the time the real price is charged, it's $837.20.

On domestic flights there are $3.30 "federal segment charges" for each leg of the flight, then there are "airport charges" for each take-off up to $18. On top of that there are "travel facilities taxes" for Hawaii and Alaska flights.

If you go international, you pay a $14.50 international departure tax, a $14.50 international arrival tax and a $17 customs fee. Lastly, there are "fuel surcharges."

In Clark's opinion, the fuel charge should be included in the price of the fare because it's not truth in advertising.

Airlines think they've done enough by saying, "junk fees not included." But that is wrong.

There are three domestic sites Clark recommends for bargain airfare. They are kayak.com, sidestep.com and travelzoo.com.

For international travel, the best site is mobissimo.com.

You also want to check the discounters directly.

So how do you get the best seat on a plane without sitting in first class? Two sites help you by showing you each seat on the various planes. First is seatguru.com and lovemyseat.com.

Consumer advice courtesy of