FEE

The airline industry is profitable again, thanks in no small part to the billions of dollars in fees it collects from passengers every year.

Gotcha! 5 new airline fees and how to avoid paying them

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The airline industry is profitable again, thanks in no small part to the billions of dollars in fees it collects from passengers every year. And it’s not just reservation change fees ($2.3 billion), checked baggage ($2.7 billion) and “miscellaneous” fees (almost $3 billion) that air travelers shelled out in 2009; now carriers are getting even more creative with their charges, imposing them for everything from redeeming frequent flier miles to carrying a bag on the plane.

Spirit Airlines announced it would begin charging for carry-on luggage. That drew criticism from the Secretary of Transportation.

Spirit’s Baldanza: “The basis for this new fee was founded in improved customer service”

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Earlier this week, Spirit Airlines announced it would begin charging for carry-on luggage. That drew criticism from the Secretary of Transportation, who I interviewed on Wednesday. I wanted to give Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s chief executive, an opportunity to respond — and to explain the rationale behind charging for carry-on bags. Here’s our interview.