Frontier Halts Flights From San Jose To Mexico In 2008 - Fuel Costs Too High

Travelers were once able to fly from San Jose to Tokyo and Paris from Mineta San Jose. But recently, the number of airlines offering international flights out of here has dropped to just two. One of the airlines -- Frontier -- has announced that next year it will be stopping its service from San Jose to Mexico.

The airline says it is an economic decision. As the price of crude oil climbs per barrel, so does the cost of jet fuel. Crude oil is almost steady at $100 per barrel. Frontier Airlines can't raise its ticket prices high enough to stay competitive and profitable at the same time.

"Fuel is throttling us. For Frontier specifically, every dollar per barrel that fuel increase is about $5 million straight to our bottom line on an annual basis," Frontier Airlines spokesman Joe Hodas said.

"When we look at Frontier's decision, we actually scratch our head because we still believe you can have a profitable airline in Silicon Valley by using this area and flying out of this airport," San Jose airport spokesman David Vossbrink said.

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