September 11 Security Fee increase

[TaraBara]

We booked our airfare through Southwest a few weeks ago. I saw today that the fares went down so I decided to do a change to get the credit. When I went to confirm the change I saw that the September 11 Security Fee went from $2.50 per one way to $5.60 each way! More than a 100% increase! Just thought I would share this information in case anyone else notices the increase and wonders about it. The increase starts today for all airlines. Boo!

 

[CPT Tripss]

"Anything for safety."

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for posting. In the earlier thread on this topic we were speculating that changing a flight if the price dropped would probably subject the passenger to the higher security fees and your experience confirms that it does.

The other thing about the higher fee is that there is no longer a cap on the amount. Under the old rules you paid $2.50 per plane change with a maximum of $5.00. So a non-stop cost $2.50, a flight with one connection was $5.00, a flight with more than one connection was still just $5.00. Under the new rules it is $5.60 per segment with no cap. So if you change planes more than once per flight you are charged each time you board.

ETA: The information about paying $5.60 per segment is not correct -- (see OKW Lover's post below). You only pay an additional $5.60 per segment if you have a layover in excess of 4 hours.

 

[shoes99]

My return flight for Feb 2015 security fee increased the fare up $4.00 per person one way.. I only have my outbound flight booked from EWR to MCO for 1/27/15. I'm still deciding on my post cruise return flight.

 

[OKW Lover]

CNN has a fairly good article explaining the fee increase in human-readable terms.

Basically, the fee is now $5.60 each way, no matter how many flights, or $11.20 round trip. For folks making a connecting flight RT, the fee is only $1.20 more.

 

[LisaS]

CNN has a fairly good article explaining the fee increase in human-readable terms.

Basically, the fee is now $5.60 each way, no matter how many flights, or $11.20 round trip. For folks making a connecting flight RT, the fee is only $1.20 more.

Thanks for posting that. That information is different than what had been reported in various articles a few weeks ago. It looks like the only way you will pay more than $5.60 each way is if you have a layover that is longer than four hours. So if you usually fly a non-stop you will pay an extra $3.10 each way, but as you stated only $0.60 more each way if you normally fly connecting flights with a reasonable layover.

 

[LeslieG]

What about SW flights that make a stop but no plane change?

 

[CPT Tripss]

That SW question made me think. Seldom do we need to clear security when connecting. Why pay a security fee for the second leg of most trips?

 

[LisaS]

What about SW flights that make a stop but no plane change?

Under the old rules you paid $2.50 if you made a stop but did not change planes. If you changed planes you paid an additional $2.50. Under the new rules you will pay $5.60 so your security fee will go up by $3.10.

 

[LisaS]

That SW question made me think. Seldom do we need to clear security when connecting. Why pay a security fee for the second leg of most trips?

Under the new rules, you get charged an additional $5.60 only if your layover exceeds 4 hours.

While most of us do not have to clear security for a connecting flight, if your layover is long enough you might opt to leave the secure area and re-enter. Maybe there are better dining options in other parts of the airport or you purposely booked a long layover to spend a few hours with a friend in your connecting city.

 

[OKW Lover]

Under the old rules you paid $2.50 if you made a stop but did not change planes. If you changed planes you paid an additional $2.50. Under the new rules you will pay $5.60 so your security fee will go up by $3.10.

TSA security encompasses more than just the passenger screening duty at the security check points.

 

[LisaS]

TSA security encompasses more than just the passenger screening duty at the security check points.

Correct and according to several articles on the fee increase, the TSA isn't even getting all of the additional funds. Some of it is going to pay down the deficit.

 

[Judyat]

Yes Congress voted for this last year and it goes into the general fund even though it's a tsa fee.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

Correct and according to several articles on the fee increase, the TSA isn't even getting all of the additional funds. Some of it is going to pay down the deficit.

Yeah right.