Why can't they just raise the price of a ticket?

We almost accept the fact that the increase in oil prices causes the increase the cost of many other products and services. We complain and pay.. $33.89 at the pump yesterday, for my Camry?

But we do not see increase in air travel and I wonder why not. It is not as if people who do and want to travel won't do it. Sure, we grab bargains, but if we have to fly we will and will pay. Even taxis have had a "fuel surcharge" when a gallon at the pump was $1.50.

And if the cost of commuting will finally be more of a hardship, then perhaps more people will use mass transit, and will demand more funding for public transit.

Or.. they will live close to their place of work - until the next layoff - and will compromise on smaller homes and will finally realize that the "American Dream" is just that: a dream.

And, perhaps, at some point they will realize that what really matters to them is secure jobs, and affordable housing and transportation, and secure access to health care and retirement, and that what consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes and clinics are but a distraction.

And perhaps then they will decide to vote for the candidates that address these issues.

Yeah, keep dreaming. Sigh

Delta Stock Plunges Anew on Downgrade
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1023539&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Airline stocks drifted lower Thursday morning leaving the Amex Airline Index off 0.3% to 48.18. Pressuring the sector, crude oil prices topped $65 a barrel in electronic trading ahead of the New York open. Northwest Airlines fell 0.2% to $4.20 while Continental Airlines slipped 0.2% to $14.65.

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5377503&subject=general&action=article

because their management is braindead and/or desparate for passengers.

It does no good to raise tickets by 5% and lose 10% of your customers to some other airline.

to the point we might as well have them as utilities.

WE bail them out and allow them to screw over employees... allow them to ignore need for uprading security (armored doors to cockpits).

I've always been mystified by airline prices. They change so drastically, that the actual cost of any given flight seems to be lost in the noise.

To the extent I can figure it out (which isn't much) it seems to have more to do with price-wars with other airlines, than it does with covering the actual cost of the flights themselves. It's small wonder that airlines are always on the verge of bankruptcy. They don't price their product in a rational way.

I'm a former Flight Attendant and know quite a bit about flying, but I'm not really sure how they figure out the price of a ticket. I know a LOT of factors are in there. I know security taxes for 9/11 are disgustingly high (that would be to fund the oh-so-wonderful TSA that we all love when we're forced to strip at the metal detector). I also know there is a certain formula for figuring out seat miles that includes their weight, the weight of the luggage, how full the flight is, where they are going, and what kind of plane is being flown on. It's cheaper to fly a puddle jumper obviously than a 747 everywhere. There's more to it, though, and a manager would probably be the person to ask, not a pilot.

:shrug:

NWA is feeling a LOT more pressure than just fuel... Like the mechanic's strike which is only 9 days away, and the fact that the pilot's union, ALPA, isn't too happy about what just happened with Champion. For those of you unfamiliar with what happened, NWA management and Champion Management struck a deal to have Champion fly some of NWA's routes out of Detroit. Not a very, um, kosher thing to do as far as screwing over pilots. Apparently ALPA is up in arms about the whole thing.

Although I do have to agree with you on the point that passengers should pick up a charge for fuel. Not the whole thing, mind you, but airlines as a whole are getting screwed with theses prices. Even an additional $20 tacked on to a ticket. When most people travel, they plan on traveling and I know I would be willing to pay an additional $20.

I also agree on your point of mass transit. I despise driving. I cannot stand it. I know if there was a decent transportation system here, I would be on it all the time. But I live in MN where the only forms of mass transit go from Minneapolis to the Mall of America. Basically you have to live in Minneapolis along one stretch of roadway to be affected. It doesn't even come close to where I live. In the middle of January I hate walking to my car, let alone standing outside for what seems like hours waiting for a bus.

I don't think Bush will do anything about the gas. Why would he? he's raking in the dough and leaving the rest of us scraping at our pockets. And, as everyone on this forum knows, he's just a money-hungry ass who doesn't really care about the rest of us.

We live in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis but last New Year's day we landed in MSP after an ice storm. There was a long long line of passengers waiting for very few taxis that, later, we realized, were driving very cautiously and slowly.

We were glad to have the light rail, took it to Nicolett Mall and from there we hailed a taxi. I don't know why they do not have a taxi stand by the station.

And, yes, would be great to have the LRT extended to the suburbs where buses are limited for rush hour. If we'd have it, we would never drive or take a taxi to the airport, at a cost of about $50.00.

The passengers must pick up all the cost of everything, otherwise the airline loses money. Yes?

This piece from a couple of weeks ago says they are:

Interesting that the list details foreign airlines and then just a general statement about domestic ones.

Either way, if you were traveling last year, or the year before, and would like to travel now, you will not see a major difference, there are still bargains... while they are on a verge of bankruptcy.