Airlines promise a return to civility, for a fee

NEW YORK (AP) ― Airlines are introducing a new bevy of fees, but this time passengers might actually like them.

Extra legroom, early boarding and access to quiet lounges were just the beginning. Airlines are now renting Apple iPads preloaded with movies, selling hot first class meals in coach and letting passengers pay to have an empty seat next to them. Once on the ground, they can skip baggage claim, having their luggage delivered directly to their home or office.

In the near future, airlines plan to go one step further, using massive amounts of personal data to customize new offers for each flier.

“We’ve moved from takeaways to enhancements,’’ says John F. Thomas of L.E.K. Consulting. “It’s all about personalizing the travel experience.’’

Carriers have struggled to raise airfares enough to cover costs. Fees bring in more than $15 billion a year and are the reason the airlines are profitable. But the amount of money coming in from older charges like baggage and reservation change fees has plateaued. So the airlines are selling new extras and copying marketing methods honed by retailers.

Technological upgrades allow airlines to sell products directly to passengers at booking, in follow-up emails as trips approach, at check-in and on mobile phones minutes before boarding. Delta Air Lines recently gave its flight attendants wireless devices, allowing them to sell passengers last-second upgrades to seats with more legroom.

And just like Amazon.com offers suggested readings based on each buyer’s past purchases, airlines soon will be able to use past behavior to target fliers.

“We have massive amounts of data,’’ says Delta CEO Richard Anderson. “We know who you are. We know what your history has been on the airline. We can customize our offerings.’’

Other airlines are experimenting with tracking passengers throughout the airport. In the future, if somebody clears security hours before their flight, they might be offered a discounted day pass to the airline’s lounge on their phone.

In the past three years, airlines have tried to hike fares 48 times, according to FareCompare.com. During 29 of those attempts, bookings fell enough that airlines abandoned the increase.

Most fares today don’t cover the cost of flying. While the average domestic U.S. roundtrip base fare has climbed 3 percent over the past decade to $361.95, when adjusted for inflation, the price of jet fuel has nearly tripled.

When oil prices spiked in 2008, airlines added checked baggage fees. Passengers still bought tickets on the base price and didn’t think about the extra expense until the day of travel.

Now airlines are recasting fees as trip enhancements.

Travelers like Nadine Angress, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, see the value. Her recent late-night US Airways flight home landed past her 6-year-old son’s bedtime. She had to work early the next morning. So, for $30 she bypassed the baggage carousel and had the suitcase delivered.

“That was a very reasonable price to pay,’’ Angress says. “It’s making your life easier.’’

U.S. airlines collect more than $6 billion a year in baggage and reservation change fees. They also collect $9 billion more from selling extras like frequent flier miles, early boarding and seat upgrades. Together, the fees account for 10 percent U.S. airlines’ revenue.

Fees provide airlines with another advantage: The Internal Revenue Service has said since they aren’t directly related to transporting passengers, they aren’t subject to the 7.5 percent excise tax travelers pay on base fares. Taxing fees would give the government an extra $1.1 billion a year to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, runway upgrades and air traffic control improvements.

Without the fees, experts say fares would be 15 percent higher.