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Airfares have climbed in recent years but jet fuel remains costly
-- in 2012, the airlines paid an average of $2.96 a gallon. Passengers have shown reluctance to book tickets if the base fare is too high, hence the introduction of more fees
-- collectively referred to in the industry as ancillary revenue. Besides baggage and change fees, airlines are charging fees for extra legroom, the ability to skip security lines and for premium meals. But the airlines are being aggressive about expanding those fees. United recently said in an internal newsletter that it hopes to collect $19.29 in average ancillary revenue per passenger by the end of 2013, up 9.1 percent from the amount it collected last year. JetBlue, which doesn't charge for the first checked bag, took in a record $22 per passenger in other fees in the first quarter, up 3 percent from the year-ago quarter. Airlines are also increasing certain fees depending on demand. Thanks to a computer upgrade, United can now charge passengers different prices to upgrade to an Economy Plus seat, which has more legroom, depending on the route, day of the week, time of day and the location of the seat. The airline said it increased the dollar value of those seats 25 percent in 2012.
[Associated
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