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If oil drops shouldn't fuel surchages drop too?
Ever since oil went through the roof this summer, airlines have been instituting extra fees left and right to recoup the costs. Now, in addition to initial ticket price, passengers are being asked to pay for everything from bottled water to selecting seats to checking luggage.Once oil returns from the stratosphere, shouldn't the airlines rescind those fees? Don't count on it. Many carriers claim that the changes recently made are long overdue corrections to a market that has too long been underweight. Whether or not that's actually true, you might be hard pressed to find an airline willing to return to the "no fees" days.
Needless to say, I'm proud to report that at least the Canadian airlines are taking steps to right the ship after oil dropped.Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines just announced that they were erasing the fuel surcharges that they, instituted earlier this year -- just as long as oil stays beneath $100 a barrel.
It's nice to know that they're not using the recent oil spike to take advantage of the everyday consumer. Now if they could just teach the American carriers the same less we'd all be in business.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
akaglebe Sep 19th 2008 2:21PM
Eh, costs are costs. The obnoxious thing was that they called them "surcharges" to begin with. Raise your fares to cover costs and be done with it, don't play word games.
Thanh T. Sep 21st 2008 6:01AM
Interesting article on fuel surcharges.
I think the upcoming holiday season will be interesting to study, especially, for the travel industry.
I believe many travelers have already made their plans and pre-reserved their airline tickets. Hopefully, airline tickets and travel packages will go on sale to encourage more travel.
It would be interesting to see how the airline industry adjusts accordingly due to the recent drop in oil prices. I would agree with many consumers and economists.
Perhaps, the holiday season is a good time to bring back advantage membership traveling points/miles for loyal customers.
Hmmm, very interesting article.
Michael McNabb Sep 22nd 2008 9:40AM
According to an old joke on the price of bread:
"It's simple economics. The price of wheat goes up, the price of bread goes up. The price of wheat goes down, the price of bread stays up."