Delta Drops Fee for Tickets Bought on Phone and at Airports

You know all those fees that airlines have added over the last several years? Delta is taking one away.

Delta will drop the fee for U.S. consumers who buy tickets over the phone or at a ticket counter to make things simpler for customers, said incoming Delta Air Lines Inc. President Glen Hauenstein on Thursday.

The phone fee was $25 and the fee for a ticket bought at an airport or other ticket counter was $35.

Most other major U.S. airlines charge these fees. (Southwest Airlines says it doesn’t.) They are designed to encourage consumers to buy tickets online, which is cheaper for the airlines than maintaining big call centers.

— American and United generally charge $25 for tickets bought over the phone and $35 at the airport in the U.S.

— JetBlue charges $25 for both.

— Alaska Airlines charges $15 for using the call center.

The major carriers don’t charge extra for online ticket purchases. Discount carrier Spirit Airlines does charge fees of $9 to $18 each way for tickets bought online or over the phone.

American, United, JetBlue, Alaska and Spirit did not comment immediately.