[The_Judge]

I will completely agree that getting one piece of info on the phone and then another at the airport is frustrating. You've done your homework by finding out in advance what you should be paying. Then only to find out it's a different amount. That part is wrong.

The money, however, is a tax. Extortion........pah-leeze. It does not go to the airline. It goes to the government so the airline is making nothing. And to be quoted such a drastic difference is odd. It is really quite a straight forward procedure for an agent to plug in the info to get the amount. There should be a breakdown on your receipt. I'd be interested to know what it says.

You also mention that "they're all a-wholes. I hope they all go out of business, and we would all be better off."

They may all be "a-wholes" but I'd seriously doubt if we would all be better off. Takes a steam ship a hell of a long time to cross the Pacific.