Midweek Round Up Of Airfares

Thanks to a significant drop in the price of crude oil, many airlines recently announced a drop in fuel surcharges. These charges were choking the price of an airline ticket adding $50-$250 to the price of a round trip flight. Delta, American, United, Air France and Virgin Atlantic all announced cuts in fuel surcharges. Other airlines are maintaining the heavy fee citing unpredictable short term charges in the cost of oil.

Now may be the time to capitalize on recent drops in fuel surcharges, and discounts on some routes. Here is a roundup of fares from Wednesday morning. All prices below are round trip and include all taxes and fees. Most travel dates valid through Fall 2008, some longer.

San Francisco to:
Long Beach $118 (JetBlue/B9)
Seattle $149 (Virgin America/VX and Alaska/AS)
San Diego $118 (Virgin America/VX)
San Jose, CR $513 (Continental/CO))
San Juan, PR $304 (U.S Airways/US)

Sacramento to:
Berlin , DE $765 (United/UA and Continental/CO)
Cabo San Lucas $329 (United/UA)

Santa Rosa to:
Las Vegas $179 (Horizon/QX)

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Double Amtrak Guest Rewards Points Offer

Ride the Rails of Amtrak this Fall and receive double points.

If you have traveled by air or car any great distance lately, you realize how the cost of fuel has taken a toll on the pocketbook. More than ever, consumers are paying more to fill up the car, and paying extra fees so the airlines can fill up their gas tanks as well.

Have you considered the rail alternative? Although Amtrak offers extensive East Coast routes, some of the most scenic routes in the country are here on the West Coast. Click here for a .pdf route map. Plus, they operate a high frequency commuter route between the Bay Area and the State Capitol. More importantly, you escape the fuel surcharge.

If you haven't taken a ride on the rail, now may be a great time. Currently Amtrak Guest Rewards is offering system wide double points for travel between September 15 and December 12, 2008. Members of Amtrak's frequent travel program can register for the promotion by clicking here.

So forget about airport check-in, security lines, delays, luggage fees, fuel surcharges - consider Amtrak for some of your future travels.

Northwest Institutes 'Service Fee' On Award Travel

One of several new/adjusted fees and personnel reductions announced by the airline
Just two weeks after Delta Airlines announced they would slap a fuel surcharge on all award redemption's, Northwest Airlines jumped on board and confirmed they too will institute a similar fee.

Described in a Northwest press release as a temporary "service fee" to offset fuel costs, passengers redeeming Northwest Worldperks miles will soon pay a fuel surcharge ranging from $25 for domestic travel, all the way up to $100 for trans-Pacific flights. The fee will be charged for ticketed itineraries beginning September 15th.

That's not all. Changing your itinerary will cost extra too. Beginning today, changes to non-refundable domestic tickets will increase $50 to $150. Changes to International itineraries will be hiked by as much as $150 more than present fees, depending on class of service and other restrictions.

The airline is matching several other carriers $15 first checked bag fee for tickets being sold as early as July 10th. No more checking your bags in for free.

Delta To Add Fuel Service Charge To "Free" Award Tickets

Redeeming frequent flyer miles for a "free" ticket
on Delta Airlines will soon cost you

In yet another setback for consumers, Delta airlines announced this morning they will begin charging customers a fuel surcharge fee when redeeming Delta SkyMiles for an otherwise "free" flight. In a press release, Delta stated effective August 15th, a $25 fee will be charged for flights within the United States and Canada, and $50 elsewhere in the world. The fuel surcharge will not impact existing itineraries or tickets purchased before August 15th.

This is the first known U.S-based airline to institute a fuel surcharge to customers redeeming banked frequent flyer miles. In the press release, managing director of Delta's SkyMiles program said, “This was a difficult but essential decision in the face of record-high fuel costs. We hope this is temporary, and should fuel prices subside from current levels, we will reevaluate this surcharge."

With the cost of oil exceeding $140 a barrel, airlines are struggling for ways to recoup operating losses. The fuel surcharge on award travel is surely seen as one possible solution. But already, consumers are crying foul, as the once advertised "earn a free trip" when redeeming 25,000 miles no longer applies. With the added fuel surcharge, it will soon become impossible to obtain a free trip with Delta.

Earlier this month, and with less uproar from the traveling community, American Airlines quietly announced they would add a $5 charge for all award tickets redeemed on their website effective June 21st. Without a huge public backlash - yet, in effect, American's move may have helped pave the way for Delta to institute the fuel surcharge announced today.

American To Begin Charging For Any Checked Bag

By Mike Grasso
After recently announcing a $25 fee for a second piece of checked luggage, American Airlines said today they also will begin assessing a $15 fee for the first piece of checked luggage. The Dallas-based carrier says it will cut domestic capacity by 10-11% the fourth quarter, lay off possibly several thousand jobs, and add additional fees for certain transactions.

American, like other airlines, are facing tough economic times. They are racing to find methods to reduce operating costs and generate additional revenue to offset record high jet fuel prices.
The new $15 fee becomes effective June 15th. American is the only legacy carrier in the United States to charge such a fee.

The parent company of American-AMR, saw its stock plummet over 30% today, now selling just under a mere $7 bucks.

In effect, the airline will push more people to try and carry fuller, heavier bags onto already cramped overhead space.

With recent airline bankruptcies and shutdowns, fuel surcharges, limiting mileage accrual, and charging baggage fees, we are truly living in a new era of air travel. We should expect a turbulent ride in the coming months as more big changes are surely in store for a deeply troubled airline industry.

British Airways & Virgin Atlantic Passenger Refunds

Approximately 5.5 Million people who flew British Airways and Virgin Atlantic may qualify for a refund as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit claims the airlines unlawfully conspired to fix prices for the "fuel surcharge" that was added to base ticket prices. Customers who purchased a roundtrip ticket on either airline between August 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006 are entitled to a refund of the fuel surcharge they paid, approximately $40 U.S dollars.

The airlines are expected to release records of passengers flying during the time period in order to arrange for refunds, but have also set up an official website whereby potential claimants can provide their current contact information: http://www.airpassengerrefund.com/

Continental doubles fuel surcharge

In a struggle to keep the engines running and show a profit, Continental Airlines announced today a doubling in the fuel surcharge on domestic airline tickets. With the increase, consumers will now pay an additional $40 for domestic airline tickets.

United and American Airlines surprised in the industry last week by charging as much as $50 for fuel surcharges. Although initially matched by other airlines, most of these charges were scaled back or dropped altogether after consumers balked at the higher fees.

The airline industry has been hammered with rising fuel costs. American, United and Delta all came out with 4th quarter losses directly attributed to the cost of fuel. Continental however did show some profit, mainly related to higher revenues from International routes. The fuel surcharges are seen as an immediate way to escape the red and bring the airlines back into profit mode.

Analysts expect other airlines will adjust their surcharges upward in response to Continental's announcement.

United Airlines bumps fuel surcharge to $25

Delta matches increase, expect higher ticket prices system wide
United Airlines said Friday it more than doubled its fuel surcharge price to $25 each way to offset higher fuel costs.

In an email, a United spokesperson said it raised its surcharge price from the previous range of $0 to $10, depending on the market. "Every penny increase in a gallon of jet fuel costs our industry $195 million annually, and while we operate more efficiently, we must be able to pass commodity costs on to customers, as other industries do." According to Rick Seany of FareCompare, Delta Airlines has matched this unprecedented increase as well.