AA's Charge

With the introduction of a fee for the first checked bag, AA put itself out there as leading the pack in raising the cost to fly. Over the weekend, AA attempted a $25 across the board fare hike and had to pull it back as other airlines balked, likely due to a weakening in demand they are seeing as prices rise. So, AA went the backdoor route yesterday and threw the $25 on top of the fare as a fuel surcharge on -- as the fine print says -- "domestic routes except those where the carrier competes with low-fare airlines." So, for all those people that live in small cities, that means you. As if it wasn't already expensive enough to fly out of Charleston, WV, it just got worse.