Zoinks !!!! $420 in fuel surcharges on airfares to Europe.

[marmar]

United Continental Holdings Incorporated (UAL), Delta Air Lines Incorporated (DAL) and rival US carriers added a record USD 420 in fuel surcharges to round-trip European fares as soaring oil prices propelled first-quarter losses, according to a Bloomberg report. Across the industry, surcharges are as much as 50 per cent greater than those put in place when fuel prices reached a record three years ago, according to air-travel website, BestFares.com.

Jet fuel has become airlines’ biggest operating expense, surpassing labor and climbing to an average USD 2.96 a gallon from January through March, up 41 per cent from a year earlier. US carriers raised surcharges and fares and trimmed expansion plans to try to preserve the full-year profitability achieved in 2010, when demand rebounded after the financial crisis.

“No one foresaw the dramatic increase that has occurred over the last three months,” Gerard Arpey, Chief Executive Officer told American Airlines employees in an April 20, 2011 e-mail. He said, “It is beyond frustrating to see the fruits of our labor wiped out by something over which we have seemingly little control.”

Combined first-quarter losses for the five biggest US airlines widened to USD 951 million from USD 892 million a year earlier. Among the five, only Southwest Airlines Co (LUV) reported a profit. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/us-airlines-surcharges-set-record-at-usd-420-as-oil-prices-climb-13257

[KurtNYC]

1. hey like don't Bogart the Scooby snacks

[SoCalDem]

2. Before long, air travel will be back to where it was in the 1950's

Only the privileged few will travel.. The unwashed masses will huddle-in-place:(

[shanti]

11. oh yeah

i can see that happening too. back to the trains and buses for the peons....more reason than ever to invest in HSR.

[zazen]

3. "No one foresaw this?" Are you f-ing kidding me?

Google any peak oil web site. Jeez. Even my teenage daughter could have told them that air travel was going to become cost-prohibitive for most people.

[bobbolink]

4. This should please those who have been loudly clammoring for higher fuel costs.

[defendandprotect]

5. We need solar powered planes --- or it's over -- !! US AF is talking about it -- !!

[Name removed]

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[uppityperson]

6. Fees on a recently booked flight on United. Incredible.

U.S. Customs User Fee $5.50
U.S. Federal Transportation Tax $32.60
Foreign Airport Tax $28.80
September 11th Security Fee $7.50
Fuel Surcharge $420.00
Foreign Air Passenger Solidarity Tax $5.70
U.S. APHIS User Fee $5.00
U.S. Passenger Facility Charge $10.50
U.S. Immigration User Fee $7.00
France Passenger Service Charge $36.90

[customerserviceguy]

13. Item #6 on your list looks 'interesting'

"Foreign Air Passenger Solidarity Tax"??!!! WTF is that?!

[uppityperson]

18. It used to say the name of the country, I changed it to "foreign". Searching finds me...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/business/02fees.html
March 2010
like a French “solidarity tax” on departing passengers that is meant to subsidize purchases of drugs to fight diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries.
(clip)
For travel within the United States, there are four basic taxes on airfares: a passenger ticket tax (7.5 percent of the base fare); a flight segment tax ($3.70 a flight); a passenger facility charge (up to $4.50 a segment); and a federal security fee, also called the Sept. 11 fee ($2.50 a segment). The first two taxes go to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which finances the Federal Aviation Administration; passenger facility charges are passed on to airports; and security fees finance the Transportation Security Administration.
------------------
http://www.europe-consommateurs.eu/en/consumer-topics/tourism/travelling-by-plane/french-solidarity-tax/
Starting from July 1 st 2006 a “solidarity tax” will be placed on flights departing from France.

According to the French President Jacques Chirac the money raised is targeted in particular at health programs for developing nations.

Proposed by Jacques Chirac as an international tax on plane tickets, France is currently the only country to have adopted this tax.
----------------------
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22849.html
Last year, France enacted a "solidarity" tax on airline ticket sales originating from France, ranging from 1 euro ($1.47) for short flights up to 40 euros ($58.67) for longer international flights. The money raised, according to Daily Tax Report's Lawrence J. Speer, goes to "a new international financing facility dedicated to funding health projects in poor countries, particularly for drugs against pandemics like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis."

Whether this is the best way to fund such programs is debatable, but a big problem has emerged. The tax was expected to raise 205 million euros ($300 million) or more a year, but in 2007 only brought in 160 million euros ($235 million), a 22 percent shortfall.

So audits are on their way as politicians blame airlines for not collecting enough revenue for the tax. The French report, available here (in French), also recognized that instead of the tax sweeping the globe, only two other countries (Chile and Gabon) have adopted it.

[customerserviceguy]

19. Interesting

The French wish to deal with their guilt feelings by taxing people who come in and out of their country. That might be reason #100 for me not to visit France.

[uppityperson]

20. Working in solidatirity " money raised is targeted in particular at health programs for developing n

"the money raised is targeted in particular at health programs for developing nations= guilt?

"the money raised is targeted in particular at health programs for developing nations"= a reason to not visit France?

Wow. That attitude is stunning.

[customerserviceguy]

21. Well, why not a special export tax on French wine

to pay for all this 'solidarity' stuff? Of course, that would make US and Australian wine cheaper, and the French would sell less of theirs.

Why is every transaction a potential source to tin cup me?

[uppityperson]

24. Oh there is. French love to use taxes. They pay a lot in taxes and everything coming out is highly

taxed. Of course I could carry home a cheap bottle of wine, but prefer pommeau as that is difficult to find here. Pastis costs around $10 a bottle there, $40 here, if you like anise.

They have high taxes on everything. I just compared flights between here and London Heathrow with here and Charles deGaulle and LHR is $180 for flights the same day which seems odd as I thought it would be less expensive. Probably some tax there also.

Since it costs more to fly to LHR, will you now say "another reason to not visit England"?

[marmar]

25. What's wrong with France?

At least no one is living up to the Daft American stereotype. :eyes:

[dipsydoodle]

22. For comparison

I just checked out of curiosity London Heathrow to Tacoma for a week and the return fare is c £500 which currently is about US$ 800. The sterling figure is less than I paid back in 2001 - last time I went to the Xmas Swing Dance event out at Fort Worden.

[uppityperson]

23. Just compared LHR $1246.60, CDR $1066.50 for same day flights

at end of this month. Interesting as I thought LHR would be much cheaper. I did a search with a week's range and it was all about the same. Used United and their affiliates as that gives a wide range of companies.

What airline were you using for that number? Using Expedia or Travelocity, they end up adding, to the quoted price, another $500ish at the end for fees. Thanks.

[Tx4obama]

7. My first trip to Italy from Houston in 2000 I paid $418 (total) for a roundtrip ticket! n/t

My last trip in 2006 the tickets where under $600 round-trip.

I'm glad the three times that I went to Italy was back when the tickets were cheap :)

[marmar]

8. In 2006, I booked a round trip open jaw ticket during a March special.......

Detroit-Frankfurt, Paris-Detroit....total cost $420 including all taxes and fees. Today, that would only cover the fuel surcharge portion of the ticket.

[SoCalDem]

12. My son's ticket to World Cup in Germany was $1150.00

:(

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. OF course there was twice as many airlines, that also helped. nt

[Name removed]

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[aikoaiko]

14. Damn. Back in the 90s, I was taking nonstop round trip flights from Boston to Paris for under $400.

Glad it was cheaper back then.

[Shagbark Hickory]

16. OF course there was twice as many airlines, that also helped. nt

[Shagbark Hickory]

17. Never could understand why the airlines don't drill for oil and refine their own fuel.

maybe somebody here knows.