Airline baggage fees
Bags of cash
LAST month the US Department of Transportation revealed, somewhat unsurprisingly, that airlines in America continue to make money from baggage fees. Delta Air Lines came out on top, pulling in more than $233m (£145m) in the third quarter of 2012, just above United Airlines on $187m. Spirit, a low-cost rival, charges up to $100 for each piece of hand luggage.
After a recent trip from Ohio to Boston, Sanjoy Mahajan, a Freakonomics contributor, claims he’s had enough. In a lively blog, he argues that while baggage fees have helped American companies to double their profits, they have also produced numerous social costs.