The US airlines with the highest junk fees revealed: How Spirit Airlines adds 736 PERCENT onto your base fare

Spirit Airlines has the highest hidden costs of any U.S. airline, making trips 736 percent more expensive than their base airfare, a new study finds.

The budget airline adds an average of $161.12 on top of a fare of just $21.89, according to analysis from the coupon code website NetVoucherCodesthe highest increase of any airline in the world.

Volaris, a Mexican low-cost carrier, has the second highest hidden costs, according to the study. The hidden cost is 626 percent of the original airfare, with customers being asked to pay $82.20 on top of a $13.13 flight.

It comes after the administration pledged in February to crack down on hidden “junk” fees, which the White House estimates cost Americans about $65 billion each year.

Customers are routinely promised a principal amount, only to find that the actual cost is much more expensive when they factor in the price of baggage, seat selection and insurance – which often cost much more than the flight itself.

Spirit Airlines has the highest hidden costs of any U.S. airline — making the flight 736 percent more expensive, a new study finds

NetVoucherCodes compiled a list of the world’s top airlines and put together a route for each airline that departed on the same day and resulted in roughly the same amount of time in the air.

The study then calculated how much was added to the airfare for services such as hand luggage, checked baggage, seat selection, fast track, insurance and in-flight Wi-Fi.

Frontier had the third highest hidden costs, as it adds an average of $109 to a base airfare of $29, making the trip 376 percent more expensive.

Sun Country Airlines, an ultra-low-cost airline that offers flights in the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, ranked fourth.

The airline added $98.48 to a $49 flight — a 201 percent increase.

Delta Air Lines, meanwhile, came in fifth, with fees increasing the fare by 158 percent — including a $30 seat selection fee.

As part of the Junk Fee Prevention Act, President Joe Biden has specified that he wants to charge fees for family members to sit with young children.

“I will ban airlines from charging $50 round trip for a family just to sit together. Baggage costs are bad enough. Airlines cannot treat your child like a piece of luggage,” the president said in February.

This is according to figures from the Traffic Department. passengers Paid $5.3 billion in baggage fees only in 2022.

It found that airlines also collected an additional $700 million in cancellation and flight change fees last year.

Volaris, a Mexican low-cost carrier, has the second highest hidden costs, according to the study

President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address in February to highlight his war on junk fees – the hidden fees used by companies to extort more money from consumers

According to figures from the Transportation Department, passengers paid $5.3 billion in baggage fees in 2022 alone

The study found that U.S. airlines charge an average of $78.04 in hidden fees. European carriers, on the other hand, charge an average of $57.79, while international carriers charge $33.27.

While budget airlines tend to charge more hidden fees — rather than include them in the cost of the plane ticket itself — major airlines add fees to that as well.

United Airlines added $67 in hidden costs, increasing the total price by 122 percent, according to the study, while American Airlines added $52 in hidden costs, increasing the total by 95 percent.

Rebecca Bebbington, money travel expert at NetVoucherCodes, said there are a number of strategies you can use to make sure your air travel stays cheap.

“To avoid baggage fees, try packing all your belongings in a carry-on,” she said. These are usually free on budget airlines, but be sure to pack strategically to avoid overweight luggage fees.

“You should also research the seat selection fees of different airlines. Consider skipping seat selection when booking and try to select free seats within 24 hours during online check-in.

“If you’re traveling in a group, book tickets together to increase the chances of sitting together without paying extra for seat selection,” she added.