Airlines will be able to push consumers further than they should be able to because the rail system in this country is so poor.

Do what I do. Hitchhike!

Best headline I've seen in a while. If only there was a picture to go along with it!

The days of cheap air travel are over. If oil stays this expensive, the days of affordable air travel may be over as well. We are definitely headed to where flights will be a luxury that the wealthy can afford, the middle class will need to save up for, and the poor are shut out completely.

The days of flying the whole family to Disney World, Hawaii, or even to Grandma's house a couple times a year are over. Flying the whole class to Paris for their senior trip is no longer an option as well.

Vacations are going to be spent at destinations that are only a few hours driving distance from home.

We are about to become a much less "mobile society".

The era of cheap air travel is over. Air travel will be, in the future just as in the past, an option for the wealthy few. It's the only business model that works with expensive fuel.
This also means air traffic congestion problems will quickly diminish and further airport building and expansion will suddenly become pointless.
The rest of us will be stuck on Greyhound until the rail system is rebuilt, if ever.

"Airlines are pondering how far they can push customers."
You can bet oil companies aren't doing any such pondering.

Unfortunately, in an industry where more than a 1% profit margin is rare, it is time to park planes, reduce or cancel routes, furlough union employees and terminate administrative employees for the survival of carriers in Chapter 13 reorganizations. However, since most aircraft are leased, carriers will not be able to simply park planes. If unable to unload aircraft and downsize labor, many carriers will have no recourse but Chapter 7 liquidation.

It going to be a bigger world, instead of a smaller one, with more of us depending on local or regional economies.

If we only had access to more of this planet's most miraculous chemical provided to man -- oil.

The airline business is tooth and nail and the companies involved frequently lose money. That's why they are looking for ways to charge customers more.

lowonoil is right in that we need to revitalize passenger rail--its a very energy-efficient means of transport. Unfortunately it is also very time-consuming
when you need to travel more than a couple hundred miles.

Southwest's CEO said he doesn't like hitting travelers with a bevy of extra fees.

"We do not want to nickel-and-dime our customers because we know they'll complain and they won't come back," Kelly said

DARN RIGHT you are, Mr Kelly! Protect your airline from the stupid nickel & diming and you'll keep customers.

Airlines will be able to do whatever they want. When someone has to fly for some reason, they have to fly. There's no two ways about it. So, congrats to you airlines for being so clever. And shame on you as well. While customers will never be able to strike or anything, you can count on us bitterly hating you forever.

I have decided not to fly any more
To much hassell

It seems as though the airlines don't seem to understand that if they overprice a service, nobody will pay for that service. If the prices are reasonable people will pay for them. I understand that fuel prices are hurting, but raising prices will drive the airlines into the ground. I had several leisure trips planned for this year, but there is no way that I can or will do it with prices as they are. So instead of losing some money on my flying, they will lose all of it because I can't afford it.

To Philly and all those who blame this on the airlines: tell your sob stories to the oil companies. Then tell it to your congressmen who won't let us drill in ANWAR for more US oil supply. Then tell it to all the people who don't want an oil refinery in their backyard. Airlines don't set the prices for oil/fuel any more than you can choose how much to pay for the gas in your car. We need more oil supply, more refineries to refine the crude oil, and a stronger dollar to bring gas/airline fuel prices down. Until then, the public will have to suck it up and pay more or stay home. Welcome to reality economics.

I think it is funny how several of these comments were taken verbatim from a Glenn Beck show.

We can't figure out a way off oil? I went to Pakistan last winter and was AMAZED to see Natural Gas powering cars not oil. A 3rd world country can do it yet we can't?!?

Not much has changed in a generation. It seems that every one has forgotten the mid 70s and we have made very little progress indeed. We have the same oil entitlement mentality as we had then. The Senate committee has attempted to blame the oil companies, but government has created the problem. Oil is sold on a world-wide market were the price is set by supply and demand. There are only two alternatives: increase supply or reduce demand. Since increasing supply is not acceptable to government the reducing demand is all that is left. Demand will be reduced when the price goes above what some people will pay. Oops, I forgot about price controls. If you remember that one in the 70s then you will know why it is unacceptable, if you don't know why ask some of your older friends and family.

As long as the USA is dependent on foreign sources for the oil our country needs, we will continue to pay a high price. If all of the environmentalists would stop going to court to stop every effort for us to become energy independent, maybe prices would come down.

It has been 30 years since a new refinery has been built in our country. Do you think that our use in that time has been static?

It is called supply and demand. (Remember your econ classes?) If the supply is low, and the demand is high, prices will rise. We live in a capitalistic society. The only way for prices to go down is to increase the supply.

Every segment of our society that uses oil is suffering. And that is pretty much all of them.

Airfare is cheaper for some trips, as driving a car would be plain prohibitive. But really......I can do without blankets and pillows, I can do without mini bags of peanuts, I can do without food as long as we are allowed to bring something aboard ourselves, but can anyone really travel without baggage of some sort? That hits just about everyone, every flight. $15 seems excessive, at any rate.

I just checked the Greyhound fare from SLC to Phoenix - $153 one way. 21 hours enroute. Or, for $87 (per Travelocity), you can use USAir or Delta and get there in about 4 hours, including average TSA screening time. My question to this forum is: Are we all just parroting what we hear or read in the media and news? Is air travel really exorbitant? Or is there some unwarranted whining going on?
I am a pilot for a major airline. I get paid about 80 cents per hour per seat. I hope it is obvious that my wages are not an obscene fraction of your ticket price. I hope, too, that you see that, compared to land travel - whether in a bus or a car - your plane ticket is not obscenely more expensive.
Forget, for a moment, what you read or hear from others, and think instead about the many options you have for your money and your time. Is getting quickly and safely to Boston, Mexico City or Tokyo really important to you? If so, then pay what it costs and be glad you can go. And let's all stop whining so much.

You are absolutely correct about why energy prices are the way they are! Supply and demand! What does anyone think will happen to the price of anything if the demand goes up and the supply goes down? Too many people are ignorant about basic economics. If congress will not allow more supply (exploration), the price of oil will continue to increase. Brace yourself!

I just checked and found I could be on the next Greyhound to Phoenix for $91 and the next nonstop flight (via travelocity) for $188. What were your search criteria, Pilot? Sounds like you were comparing apples to watermelon.
The Bus would use about 2 gallons of fuel per seat to make the trip. How many would the plane use? Which is the more sustainable business model?

Flying makes sense to those with abundant money and scarce time. In the low energy austere economy that is our future, many of us will have scarce money and abundant time.

My search for a Greyhound ticket was made on the Greyhound website. My fare quote from Travelocity was for a 14-day advance purchase. That must be where our data are discrepant - either that or the fares change rapidly enough that we can search the same sites for the same tickets and come up with different prices. This, however, is not news.
Mr. Daniel Yergin, who wrote a best-seller about the history of our oil economy, stimulated a quote that the true source of energy is human ingenuity. I am not averse to conserving resources, but it is a fact that oil has been considered to be scarce ever since Pennsylvania was a big producer in the late 1800's. I am not convinced that our current sense of scarcity will be any more accurate than previous gloomy predictions, but whatever our supply, I am sure that we will find other and better sources of energy (and without the need for new legislation).
You are welcome to your pessimistic outlook, but I don't buy it. And for the present, I stand by my claim that air travel is still a good bargain for everyone - not just the affluent.

Peak oil awareness advocates have created a unit of measuring the current price of oil called "The Yergin". The price of oil in Yergins is the multiple of what Daniel Yergin predicted it would be. Currently oil is selling at roughly 3.5 Yergins.
The sad thing is how much serious planning has occured based on the projections of CERA and Daniel Yergin. Perhaps even the plans of your airline.
-lowonoil