Annoying airline fees mean big business

No one likes paying extra fees when flying but airlines are raking in big bucks from ancillary revenue.

According to a new survey by CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany, last year airlines took in $31.5 billion from extra fees, that’s up nearly 1200% since the survey’s first year in 2007.

Fees are growing faster than ticket prices, which allows airlines to stay profitable in tough economic times.

And while those fees for checking bags add up quickly, those account for just 25 percent of the $31.5 billion total. Turns out airlines are bringing in the most extra revenue from the sale of frequent flier miles-- about $18.6 billion.

How do your favorite airlines bring in the extra dollars? The graphic below details more findings from the survey.

CarTrawler survey of global ancillary revenue, IdeaWorksCompany