• Miami Herald, Wednesday, March 4, 2009 11 AM

Spirit Airlines is charging a "passenger usage fee" of $4.90 each way, after discontinuing a similar fee in late July, Ina Paiva Cordel reports. "It's a booking fee to cover distribution costs," says Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson.

Spirit recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation after months of discussions. The DOT fined Spirit $40,000 in late December for violations related to its rule on full-fare advertising.

"We informed Spirit they can charge a fee at any place other than ticket counters only if the fee is included in the ticket price advertised," says DOT spokesman Bill Mosley. "They can't say 'the ticket is $225 plus a $25 fee.' They have to say, 'The ticket is $250; this includes a $25 passenger usage fee.'"

In addition to the passenger usage fee, Spirit for one week in June charged a "Natural Occurrence Interruption Fee" of $2.50 and an "International Service Recovery Fee" of $8.50. Pinson says the airline does not plan to bring back those fees.

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