Airlines think cutbacks could bring back profits

Minneapolis airline expert Terry Trippler said the new travel fees are here to stay. If anything, Trippler said, airlines probably will look to include more fees like charges for carry-ons.

"Whatever is going to cost them money is going to cost you money," he said. "You carry on a bag, the weight of that bag is going to cost the airline money, therefore it will cost you money. You want a soda, well, to carry those sodas on a plane or to buy them will cost them money. Therefore it will cost you money."

Consumers need to realize that air travel is no longer the luxury it once was, Trippler said. When people think of airlines, he said, they should imagine it like a big bus with wings.

"You have no amenities on the bus," he said. "And guess what: they also ask you to pay for a second bag on a bus."

The message seemed to be lost so far on travelers in New York's Penn Station.

"I think they are just sticking it to people," Denise Conway of Gastonia, N.C. said of the airlines. Conway was taking an Amtrak train from New York to North Carolina with her granddaughter, in part because she said it was too expensive to fly.

"Flying is definitely becoming more of a luxury," she said. "I'm not asking them to sell gourmet dinners, but people like me--I don't work--I could never afford to fly to New York. Not anymore."

Michelle O'Leary, 35, of Marshfield, Mass. agreed. Instead of flying, O'Leary bought a cheap fare on Megabus to take her two daughters from New York to Boston. The trip for the three of them cost $96. She said it would have cost them $678 to fly.

Frank Pittelli of Long Island, New York, added: "Flying nowadays is great for people who can afford it," he said. "But with these extra fees, it feels like (the airlines) are just hurting the less fortunate."

Besides the extra fees, airlines are expected to make big reductions in the number of routes they offer. By parking planes and cutting seating capacity, executives hope to keep demand (and therefore fares) high for the remaining tickets. According to estimates by US Airways, any roundtrip ticket needs to cost more than $299 to cover the cost of fuel.