Airline fees

Airline analysts, serving the interests of the industry, maintain that baggage fees are the only thing that helped airlines make a profit last year. However, I would note that the only airline that is consistently profitable, Southwest, does not charge the fees. Airlines make a mistake by ignoring the customer loss due to anger over the extra fees -- or by assuming that such anger has dissipated over time.

That is why I fly Southwest whenever it makes sense -- even if it means having to make a connection. AA and USAir lose my business because of their fees -- and I fly 3-4 times a month.