Qantas made a net profit after tax of $720 million for the year ended June 30 and I’m wondering how much of it came from fees.

I had to cancel a flight and rebook recently, the catch being I was forced to spend the same amount or more in one transaction. The red kangaroo also hit me with a $38.50 fee for changing the ticket and another $10 for booking over the phone, which was unavoidable because of the way the system works.

Because of the fares on offer I ended up spending more than $50 extra than my original booking on a route which should be cheaper.

The airline’s profits from fees can’t be found in any of the annual announcements and presumably comes under “sales and other income,” which totals almost $15.2 billion — on page one of the preliminary final report.

But the airline — while probably not earning as much as the banks in fees — would surely generate a bit of income from the practice.

The difference is that the banks are willing to budge and refund fees after a public backlash earlier this year.

I should know, because I was livid when I was charged for not having any money in my saving account to cover a credit card bill, despite depositing the money the night before.

The Commonwealth Bank charged me a $30 overdrawing appraisal fee and an overdrawn account fee of $15, which was $3.50 less than Qantas. The bank refunded me the money and actually had a heart, to my surprise.

Let’s hope Qantas and other airlines do something about their exorbitant fees for the benefit of its customers.

For the record, Virgin Blue charge a $35 fee for changing your ticket and they also stipulate you must book a fare of equal or greater value.

Either way, airline company shareholders are cashing in while customers are forced to cough up.

Qantas was asked how much it generates in fees and to justify them for the story but Razed.com.au has not heard from their PR spinners despite asking for comment more than a week ago.