Airlines Adhere To Playbook As Airfares Increasing Again

djamal-soft الخميس، 2 يناير 2014
By Cornelius Nunev


Airlines charge a lot in charges and generally do not lower airfare prices very often, which many air travelers aren't happy about. Airfare increasing is a fact of life and many key companies have indeed been raising airfares again lately.

Fourth round of airfares rising this year

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

There have been seven attempts to increase airfares this year, though this is just the fourth time it has stuck.

Not enormous increase

Though another $4 to $10 isn't large, numerous increases of that much over the course of a year can add up. Last year, fares rose nine times.

However, the news isn't all bad. Some airlines are only raising prices on longer routes, as Southwest is excluding flights under 500 miles. Not everyone is going to feel the pinch though, as late August is generally when the slow season for air travel begins. Fewer people fly during fall and as a result, airlines typically cut back. Air carriers generally cut charges by 10 to 20 percent during the sluggish season, which might save some travelers some cash.

Sometimes, a fee is added to the trip that you were not expecting, according to the LA 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.

Fuel costs are about $3.05 per gallon, compared to 2010 when it was $3.00 per gallon, according to Airlines for America.

Not making as much as you think

Regardless of the truth that air carriers make billions of dollars off of additional fees such as baggage charges, you would be surprised to see how much those airlines actually take home after paying all of their own fees. The Huffington Post points out that airline charges are really decreasing right now, and fuel surcharges have to be revealed under federal laws for ticket costs now.

For instance, according to a 2010 CNN article, a one-way flight from LA to New York cost $506.62, on average, at the time of that article's writing. Of that $506.62, just $33.34 was profit, roughly 6.6 percent. Almost $200 of that goes to labor and fuel, fuel accounting for the largest portion, at $97.85. A 10 percent increase in fuel costs boosts those costs to $23.67, a margin of roughly 4.8 percent. Prices could be high, but that's the cost of being able to fly the friendly skies.



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