Delta became the latest airline to conjure up new ways to charge travelers this week when it hiked fees for several of its basic services and added more premium food offerings ($3 Vitamin Water, anyone?). Here’s the lowdown:

Food: As of this week, Delta flights of 750 miles or more will offer a new menu with a $7 veggie sandwich (must be some premium produce), $8 chicken sandwiches and $3 bottled water beverages.

Pets: Want to bring your pet on board a Delta flight? That’ll be $100, thanks.  That’s up from the previous fee of $75.

Oversized bags: Packing heavy will cost you from now on. Delta began charging passengers $150 per oversized bag this week.

Kids: Want to send the kids to see grandma and grandpa this summer? Tack on an extra $100 for each unaccommpanied minor ticket from now on.

SkyMiles travel: A new $25 handling charge will now be levied whenever travelers purchase award tickets that include segments on planes operated by other airlines.

Worst case fee scenario? You buy a multi-carrier ticket using Delta SkyMiles to send your 12-year-old daughter and dachshund off with an overstuffed bag (she packed it herself) to see grandma and gramps this summer. On the plane, your child gets hungry, buys an $8 sandwich, which makes her thirsty, so she buys a $3 water. Total extra cost for the trip: $386.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Air Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.