It now seems that many airlines are planning on increasing travel fees for the upcoming holidays. This new fee increase comes on the heels of one of the worst years the airline industry has ever seen. Many airlines are going under, and it seems like the ones that are not are out to make customers pay more.

So far, most of the largest United States airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days. The fee is now $20 each way, which is up from $10. This surcharge applies to a very large number of flights within the United States on a dozen or more peak days around the holidays. This does include Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

Some of the well known airlines that have already boosted their surcharge include Delta, American, United, US Airways, and even Northwest. A spokesman for American Airlines, Tim Smith, did confirm the higher surcharges just this past Monday. He went on to say that, although airlines are filing the increases as a surcharge this time, fares on these peak days have always tended to be a lot higher. It is simply a matter of supply and demand. Smith also said that the increases started late last week with US Airways. Most other airlines, including American Airlines, have matched this increase.

A US Airways spokesman, Morgan Durrant, also confirmed these peak day surcharges. He said that his airline did this simply to match other competitors.

Most experts say that they are not shocked at this increase. Although there is normally an increase during these peak days, the now bigger fee is likely a way for airlines to make back a little profit, which has been lost this year. Other experts say that, although this worked in the past, it is not guaranteed that it will work this time. This is due to the fact that many passengers are much more likely now to look for the best deals that they can find.