Finding out the total cost of your airline ticket can be a bit difficult – often, you don’t learn until the very last minute that your $300 “bargain” actually costs a whole lot more.

This is especially true if you’re looking at overseas flights, where fuel surcharges can be truly frightening.

You want the total cost up-front – and I can help. Just follow this simple tip:

Check out my U.S. Airline Fuel Surcharge Report and the International Airline Fuel Surcharge Report: you can tell at a glance the average fuel surcharge for each airline, and even what the average fuel surcharge is fro a transatlantic flight compared to a trans-Pacific flight. This is information you need before you shell out your hard earned money.

Over at British Airways, they’ve been discussing how to best incorporate fuel surcharges into published fares; and Chris Elliott says the European Parliament approved a new rule mandating that “airfares have to include all taxes, fees and charges added to the basic ticket price” which could go into effect as early as the end of this year.

But by using my domestic or international fuel surcharge reports, you’ll be way ahead of the game.