The fact that 769.6 million passengers stepped onto planes in the U.S. last year sounds pretty impressive, right? Well, it's 5.3% less impressive than the year before, when 812.3 million boarded flights ... not to mention the 838.2 million in 2007.

The airline industry has spent the past two years getting brutalized by the global recession, which finally pushed it below the 800 million passenger threshold for the first time since 2004, when 763.7 million passengers took to the skies.

If you think all those new airline fees were a temporary measure to help these beleaguered companies through an economic crisis, you're out of your mind. Now that they've had a taste of how much they can make by charging you for an extra bag or a little more leg room, they're hooked. More important, the fees are making up a meaningful portion of airline revenues and profits, so investors aren't likely to be satisfied with a return to normal – well, they can't. Extra fees are the new "normal."

Bigger fees are compensating for shorter flight manifests. For the first half of 2009, airlines in the United States have raked in $3.8 billion from cancellation, re-booking, checked bag and other fees. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation puts this result up from the $2.3 billion airlines generated from these fees in the first half of 2008.

While passengers haven't been thrilled with these additional charges, the airlines have had to compensate for a significant drop in passenger traffic, as the industry copes with the worst travel session since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) got spanked in the second quarter, as frequent fliers kept their feet on the ground. The American Airlines parent posted a $390 million loss in a quarter that historically has been kind to travel companies. AMR rationalizes the results with the thought that the loss would have been only $319 million ($1.14 per share) if charges related to selling and grounding planes were excluded. This would have put the airline ahead of analyst expectations of a $1.28 per share loss. AMR's Q2 revenue fell 21% to $4.89 billion.

And, it's far better than the airline's performance in the second quarter of 2008.

Desperate times call for desperate measures benefit consumers. As online travel agencies slug it out in the hunt for market share, many are starting to cut booking fees -- ironically, in stark contrast to what the airlines themselves are doing. While the airlines are looking to squeeze every last ounce of revenue from each passenger mile, the websites that put people in seats are hungry for any competitive advantage they can find.

Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) has permanently kicked its airline booking fees on both domestic and international flights. Travelocity is following suit, to a limited extent, at least, by continuing to wave booking fees ... a measure that Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE) is taking, as well. What started as promotions are fast becoming the norm.

Passenger annoyance has been on the rise over the past year, as airlines have found new and unusual fees to charge passengers. European low-cost carrier Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) has been at the tip of the spear, at one point considering a charge for access to the lavatory. The hidden secret in all this is that it works.

Ryanair's latest fee is nothing short of brilliant. The airline is now slapping customers with a €10 ($14) charge for printing boarding passes at home ... and €40 ($55) to do so at the airport. Since there's no other way to get your boarding pass, this translates to a minimum fee of $14 per flight (with a few small exceptions). Given the company's price advantage in the short-haul European space, the move is unlikely to drive passengers to competitors.