Many Australians are taking advantage of the strong dollar to enjoy European vacations. But when booking for short flights about the continent, beware of hidden airline fees.

A study of peak holiday travel fares through February 2010, conducted by a U.K. consumer group, found that services once considered normal by travellers now cost extra, including payment by credit card and checking luggage for the flight, even only a single bag. In some instances, just those two services can raise the cost of a ticket by as much as a third.

British airline Jet 2, for example, takes the prize for the highest fees by dollar amount. Jet 2 charged $164 extra for a flight between Manchester and Rome, for checking a single bag and paying by credit card.

Ireland’s Ryanair charged the highest fees by percentage of the ticket price, which rose as much as 29% on flights from the British Islands to Malaga in Spain for the same two services.

The lowest fees were charged by the British airline EasyJet, never rising above $66 per flight. However, that’s still a 17% hike in price.

Such fees seem excessive for services that, until recently, were included in the overall fare price tag. Does the aircraft really use that much more petrol merely because an extra bag was added to the cargo hold? Or does the airline incur such heavy charges merely for processing a credit or debit card payment?

“[I]n reality, how many people don’t use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage?” said a research representative of Which? Holiday magazine. “These aren’t extra services. They are part and parcel of taking a flight.”

Source: theaustralian.com.au