PHOTO: Passengers can purchase snacks on United Airlines starting at $4.

It was October of 2011, a beautiful afternoon in Danvers, Mass., when a family took their two children to the Connor’s Farm Corn Maze. That year, the artistry as viewed from above showed the theme of the maze was in honor of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman.

The family just about lost their heads trying to find their way out of the maze.

By early evening – 6:32 p.m. to be exact – the father called 911 to report they were lost and couldn’t find their way out. They were rescued by local police and the owners of the farm, who had been contacted.

We tell that story for a simple correlation: It takes a village of travel agents to help their clients navigate the maze of new airline fees as well as seating and boarding arrangements in this day and age of airline travel. “Getting there” has never been so quick and easy, yet so convoluted and frustrating.

Even Congress is exasperated. The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation said in August it will open an inquiry into how airlines disclose passenger fees. Committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-West Va.) sent a letter to the top 10 revenue-generating U.S. passenger airlines, asking how they disclose certain additional fees to consumers when they are making ticket purchases.

“One major theme emerging from recent stakeholder debate on air travel consumer protections is the question of whether airlines provide passengers sufficient transparency in the ticket purchase process,” Rockefeller wrote in a letter to the CEOs of United, Delta, American, Southwest, US Airways, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, SkyWest and Spirit airlines. “Specifically, consumer advocates have underscored the importance of price transparency in light of the recent trend where airlines have increasingly been separating from base airfare … specific “optional” fees for services such as carry-on bags and seat selection.”

This is where travel agents are indispensable in helping their clients. The basic cost of an airline ticket is not the total cost of an airline ticket thanks to all the ancillary fees. The total cost can consist of the base fare, government taxes and fees, airport fees, service fees, and fuel surcharges.

Now tack on fees for booking, seat selection, carry-on bags, checked bags, ticket change fees and even food and beverages on some airlines, and your base fare starts to add up considerably – in some cases more than $100 per person.

Just look at the ancillary fees charged by the various airlines. To wit:

• $25 for a first checked bag on American Airlines, $35 for a second bag
• $20 to book a flight over the phone on Virgin America
• Anywhere from $10 to $99 for premium seating on JetBlue
• $4 and up for snacks on United

And it goes on and on. Last year, U.S. airlines collected $6 billion in fees and that was just for checked bags and ticket changes, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

What travel agents must be most diligent about going forward, however, is the fate of the Transparent Airfares Act of 2014, one of the most contentious aviation industry bills ever to go before Congress. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the resolution for the Act, which would allow airlines and ticket sellers to remove taxes and fees from the price of a base airfare listed on their website and list it in a different place.

The airline industry and proponents of the bill, which still must go before the Senate, say the consumer is savvy enough to understand the separation of fees, much like buying a pair of pants at retail for $29.99 but understanding that taxes will push the final tally upward. Writing an op-ed piece in the Seattle Times earlier this year, Lee Moak, president of the Airline Pilots Association, said, “Congress will soon have an opportunity to shed light on the federal taxes and fees levied on air transportation and ensure that truth in advertising isn’t fly-by-night when it comes to airline tickets. The bipartisan Transparent Airfares Act of 2014 (H.R. 4156) would bring honesty to airline-ticket advertising and allow consumers to understand the true cost of flying. Equally important, the legislation would hold lawmakers accountable for tax increases and expose the damaging effects that government-imposed taxes and fees have on U.S. airlines’ ability to compete internationally and provide U.S. jobs.”

Opponents say it’s deceptive advertising.

Consumer groups, including the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) are fighting the legislation tooth and nail. Earlier this year, ASTA president Zane Kerby told Vacation Agent’s sister online publication, TravelPulse.com, “We need for anyone concerned about anti-consumer practices to tell their member of Congress that this so-called Transparent Airfare Act doesn’t fly. This bill would allow airlines to deceive travelers about the actual cost of a flight, a fight they already lost in 2012 when the Department of Transportation put rules in place to prevent precisely this situation.”

Recently, TravelPulse.com put together a comparison for Fox News of a typical flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles International with random dates of an Oct. 8 departure and Oct. 13 return, and choosing United Airlines as the random carrier.

The airfare advertised on United’s website was $404 and did include taxes and fees. But if the Senate passes the Transparent Airfares Act, United would be able to advertise that ticket with a base price of $336.50. Separately, it can then advertise the 7.5 percent U.S. Excise Tax, the new TSA Sept. 11 fee, airport passenger facility charges and U.S. Federal Segment fees where applicable.

And if you fly internationally, there are a host of other fees that apply as well to U.S. airlines and, in some countries, whopping airport passenger facility charges.

Again, all of which is best navigated and subsequently communicated to clients – by the travel agent, who must now become immersed in the politics of the industry.

To counter that potential legislation, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has proposed the Real Transparency in Airfares Act, which he says will “lift the veil on hidden costs, level the playing field for consumers and increase accountability for air carriers and large ticket sellers.”

Travel agents have long been about personal relationships with clients. This new era of fees has altered the dynamic. Now travel agents must become even more and more educational in their approach to help their customers understand the ever-changing world of how ancillary fees work.

Because “the fee” be it for checked bags, carry-on bags, booking, or food – has become a financial game-changer for the airlines. It’s here to stay.