Airline Baggage Fees
Tips for Finding Cheap Airfare
You're Grounded: Airlines in Crisis
Are the Airlines Nickel-and-Diming Us to Death?

Over the past few weeks, a steady trickle of new airline surcharges has swelled to a surging torrent. Some make the news, some don't; some are obvious, others are buried deep in Terms and Conditions rendered in tiny text. But in the end, even frequent travelers might be surprised when they stop and take a look at what costs extra these days.

Here's a rundown of where your nickels and dimes (or more like fins, sawbucks, Jacksons and more) are headed on your next trip.

The Second Bag Will Cost You
The most talked-about surcharge increase has been on a second checked bag; you can expect this eventually to become an industry-wide standard. We're already pretty close; American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, AirTran, United and US Airways all charge $25 for a second bag. Jet Blue currently charges $20. At present, Southwest is not charging for a second bag.

Spirit Airlines charges for all bags, and it's more if you pay at the airport instead of online before flying -- that is, you'll pay more if you wait until, uh, you have actually packed your bags to figure out how many bags you'll have to pay for.

Editor's Note: Since this story was published, nearly all major airlines -- including American, United, US Airways, Delta/Northwest, AirTran and Continental -- have added fees for checking a single bag. Southwest is now the only major carrier to allow an allowance of two free checked bags on domestic flights. For the latest information, see our comprehensive roundup of airline baggage fees.

Remember, these fees apply each way on roundtrip flights, so double all the prices above to get your real expenses per trip.

As I will explain below, I am not entirely opposed to imposing fees on travelers who use more resources. The problem, however, is that the new fees will just force most travelers to adapt, primarily by carrying on even more stuff. To avoid paying $50 roundtrip to check another bag, travelers are going to load up their first checked bag as much as possible, and everything else they can possibly carry will be coming down the gangway with them -- and with the rest of us. If you think it's been tough finding overhead bin space thus far, just wait until the "one bag and one personal item" we're currently allowed seems to include a full-sized steamer trunk and the family goat.

When the backlash arrives, the enforcement of carry-on rules will kick in, and there will be some upset folks at the gate when they're told they have to check a ton of stuff -- for which, of course, they now need to pay $25. Boarding could get slow at best, and ugly at worst.

Your Bags Had Better Be Light, Too
Not only will your second bag cost you, but if you try to overload your first bag, you could pay even more dearly.

For example, while United's second bag fee is $25 each way, if your bag is over 50 pounds, even by a pound, you'll pay a $100 excess baggage fee per bag, up from $50 starting May 5. So your free allowance is effectively limited to 50 pounds of stuff. How much is that? A quick jump on the scale at the gym this winter indicated that a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, socks, a sweater and a pair of boots in winter weighed between seven and nine pounds. Add a pair of running shoes and exercise gear, some toiletries, a thick book, rain gear, dress shoes and some pajamas, and you can travel with only a few days of stuff before you're digging into your pockets for the luxury of some clean clothes.

Some more "highlights" from the recent surge of surcharges:

Phone Reservations
Making your reservation by phone will now cost you on most airlines. Fees range from $5 on Northwest all the way up to $25 on Delta.

So a four-minute conversation (well, not including your time on hold) with a reservations agent to book your ticket will cost you the equivalent of $375/hour. If Delta is paying that kind of money to its agents, I'm going to work on my resume.

Customer Service
I had heard about this one from a friend, and wrote myself a note: "Air Canada to charge for customer service." Sure enough, that was the headline the next day: Air Canada to charge for customer service.

Air Canada says that for for an extra $25 - $35 per booking, you get "speedy" (read: "we answer the phone") access to "specially trained" (read: "competent") agents. And what do those folks do for you for your money? They help you out when Air Canada botches your flight! So now Air Canada is selling you travel insurance for when their own travel product flops. Of course, they're careful to tell you that it does not replace your own travel insurance. Wow.

Pay Your Own Reward
Meanwhile, many loyalty programs are testing traveler loyalty by charging not insignificant fees to book reward travel. Why isn't this in the news lately? Well, mainly because it has been going on for some time. Two years ago last week, for example, United began charging a $50 fee for reward tickets booked less than 14 days in advance, and upped it to $75 less than seven days out. Similar fees exist at other airlines.