Posted on 11/17/2014 5:58:11 PM PST by Olog-hai
U.S. airlines are saving tens of millions of dollars every week because of lower prices for jet fuel, their largest expense. So why don't they share some of the savings with passengers?
Simply put: Airlines have no compelling reason to offer any breaks. Planes are full. Investors want a payout. And new planes are on order.
In fact, fares are going higher. And those bag fees that airlines instituted in 2008 when fuel prices spiked aren’t going away either. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Or it could just be supply and demand.....
At some point, some enterprising airline will decide to try to increase market share. . . .
Most carriers contract a year out for fuel. They do get a price break that way ... should fuel prices rise, they’re locked into a set price. They only loose if prices fall which over the years has risen ... if their contract is up during the price drop then .....
Southwest is always working the fares down to the dollar. If they are charging a certain amount that is what the market will bear.
I was driving to Hawaii, but I had to turn back halfway there because I couldn’t find a gas station.
—Allegiant just added a bunch of destinations, also—
What, no Shell stations? ;^)
CC
Was it a four lane or a two lane highway?
:-)
And the author knows this how? Does he know the purchasing routine for each airline? Like when they purchase their fuel and when they receive their fuel? Or does the author affirmly believe that because the price of oil is going down today, that the airlines simply buy off the rack at that exact moment in time and receive their fuel as if it were an email sent to him via the internet.
People have become enamored in the had to have it yesterday philosophy that they have absolutely zero sense in how real world purchases are made and then delivered. The author probably never heard of 99% of business terminology when it comes to purchasing inventory or raw goods for manufacturing.
People like this author assumes that because they can go to the grocery store and get their food now that it is that way everywhere for everything. The author may not realize the food he bought today and took home to eat at his table tonight was ordered over a week ago by said grocery store. So maybe, just maybe, the ticket prices will fall to reflect today’s current prices in the future.
He his also forgetting one other thing, this is holiday travel season when ticket prices go up anyways not because of fuel but because of demand is higher at this time of year more so than any other part of the year. Or maybe he saw that ticket prices were higher this part of the year has no clue why and just wants to whine about it. Here is the solution, buy your ticket before September when ticket prices get changed for the holiday travel season.
Demand Up Supply Down = increase in prices. Economics 101.
Because they know they’re too big to fail — they were bailed out BEFORE the banks were, remember?
By the time you add in all their baggage fees and seat-selection fees and print-a-boarding-pass fees they’re no bargain.
Sometimes they lose money, sometimes they make money.
Since I am a populist-leaning, rightwing nut job not officially affiliated to either party I'm expected to blame the Jews.
Instead I'm going to blame the Grays living on the dark side of the moon.
I find a the Shell station. It’s on my radio and it only plays Hawaiian music. I press a the seek button on the car radio but all I get is some guy wearing a turban.
Exactly. The airlines probably locked in the fuel price months ago, not know they would drop. They don’t just pull up to a gas pump like we do.
I hit a the button that says “freq” and all it plays is Rick James. =^)
CC
Who in tarnation wants to fly, packed in like sardines on a sealed tube?
Are they joking?
They run out of money. It was a one lane highway. They didn’t have any money for mile markers. Every so often, there’s a dolphin and you ask him how far you’ve gone. According to him, I had gone three squeaks. I think he’s crazy. My car gets at least four squeaks per tank of gas.
There’s so much consolidation, there’s not enough competition to drive prices down. Airtran is gone, so Delta own’s ATL again and connecting flight prices. Continental gone. USAIR gone. It’s United, American, Delta and Southwest that pretty much run the show. Southwest can be competitive, but as another poster mentioned, they are masters of supply and demand. There’s no need to cut prices right now.
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