Airlines made $7.8B from fees last year

NEW YORK (AP) — The government today confirmed what many travelers might already have suspected: U.S. airlines made a lot more money in fees last year.

The Department of Transportation said revenue from so-called ancillary fees was $7.8 billion last year, up 42 percent compared with 2008, the year baggage fees were introduced.

The biggest chunk of the fees came from checked baggage. The first baggage fees appeared in 2008 when oil prices soared to a record high $147 per barrel.

Besides checked bags, DOT said airline fees include reservation changes, pets, seating assignments, food and drink sales, pillows and blankets and mileage sales.