Let’s face it, airline fees suck and as the economy keeps going down the tubes, the airline companies need to find ways to get more money out of their customers.  From charging for checked in bags to charging for food, there are many steps you can take in order to avoid all of these airline fees.  Here are some ways you can avoid the common airline fees.

Booking Through A Third Party
No matter how you book your ticket, you should never book through a third party candidate like Orbitz or Expedia.  Instead, you should use these carriers as a search engine.  When you find a ticket that you want to purchase, book directly through the airline to avoid the booking fee.  Sites such as Orbitz will charge you a few dollars per ticket. 

Stick With Your Seat
A lot of airlines are starting to charge you for choosing your seat.  This may be a shock to some of you but there’s a simple way to avoid this charge, don’t pick out your seat.  Sometimes it’s nice to have extra leg room or an aisle seat but if you find yourself choosing your seat now, you’ll probably be paying a few bucks extra. 

Checked Bags
A few years ago, airlines never thought of charging for checked in bags.  Today, most airlines are charging you for checked-in bags.  Depending on the airline, some airlines will charge you for one bag but others may charge on the second bag.  If your airline will charge you for a second bag, try and stuff everything into one bag and take a carry on.  If the airline charges you for one bag, you can either eat up the costs or ship your bags ahead of time.   Both ways will probably equal out to be the same price.

Bring Your Own Food
Just about every airline today is going to charge you for food, headphones, drinks, and everything else under the sun.  If you can try and bring all of this stuff on your own, you’ll be able to avoid the charges the airlines charge you.  Food isn’t cheap on an airline and you will find sandwiches ranging from $5 to as much as $15 and trust me, it’s not worth it.  If you pack your lunches and snacks ahead of time, you’ll save a ton of money.  Be aware though that you can’t bring drinks past the check in gate, so make sure you get your drinks at a convenience shop inside of the airport.

Don’t Do Phone Reservations
If you’re looking to purchase tickets in the near future, don’t book your tickets over the phone.  Most airlines today will charge you for making reservations over the phone.  Anything from $5 and on.  A easy way to avoid this is to simply book online or have a relative or friend help you if you unfamiliar on how the Internet booking process works.

Watch The Pet Fees
If you have a pet and you want to bring it on board, you may want to look at how much the airline charges you.  You probably will change your mind when you find out how much they will charge you.  To be honest, there’s no reason you should bring your pet on the airline anyway.  Skippy will be just fine at home with a babysitter or will be just fine at a kennel.  Plus, you’ll be saving your pet a stressful situation because no animals like flying!