Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Airfares Rising Again Before Slow Season

By Cornelius Nunev


In the past few years, seldom is it ever the situation that airfares are decreasing. Fees and higher costs of fuel make traveling a more costly proposition every year. A new round of airfares increasing has just been reported, as the air carriers are at least consistent.

Increased airfare for fourth time

A ton of airlines have increased base airfares by a lot recently, starting with United Air carriers. The airline business increased charges by $4 to $10 depending on the route, according to FareCompare.com. After that, JetBlue, Virgin and Southwest Air carriers also all elevated their prices. Everybody appears to be interested in increasing fares now. It also increased at US Airways, American Airlines and Delta.

It was the fourth time that base airfares have risen this year. Overall, seven attempts have been made to raise airfares, though only successfully three times before this latest raise.

Increase not too bad

Though another $4 to $10 is not enormous, many increases of that much over the course of a year can add up. Last year, fares rose nine times.

A lot of people will find that it is actually not that bad since air carriers such as Southwest are not increasing rates on flights under 500 miles. A lot of people could save cash by flying in the off-season too, which is fall since fewer people travel in the fall. Airlines will cut ticket prices by 10 to 20 percent in the fall typically because it is so slow.

Sometimes, a fee is added to the trip that you were not expecting, according to the Los Angeles Times, such as airline fuel surcharges. Since April 2011, surcharges have increased 53 percent regardless of the fact that fuel has only increased by 24 percent, according to a study by Cason Wagonlit Travel that showed just how much fuel surcharges are increasing.

However, Air carriers for America, the trade group for big air companies in the United States, notes fuel prices are roughly $3.05 per gallon, compared to $3.00 per gallon in 2010.

Slim margins

Airlines actually do not make that much on your air fares, and they have to disclose fuel surcharges to you now legally. The Huffington Post points out that airline fees are decreasing right now, and even though it seems like baggage fees and other additional charges bring the airlines billions, you have to compare it to the charges airlines end up with.

It can be ridiculously costly to fly, but that does not mean the airline is making very much money. For instance, one 2010 CNN article explained that a flight from LA to New York will cost about $506.62, $200 of which is put into labor and fuel. Fuel cost about $97.85. About $33.34 of the flight was profit, at 6.6 percent. If fuel increases by $23.67, or 10 percent, that margin decreases to 4.8 percent. It is almost not worth it, but someone has to do it.




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