gas price now 1.87 for shell

[Buttzilla]

visiting my gf in nh, yesterday, we pumped a full tank in her civic for 20 dollars. haven't been that cheap in years.

i'm just wondering, how come airline tickets aren't getting any cheaper? cost per oil barrel is going down, price of gas is going down but still... no free snacks , extra 20-30 dollars for emergency seats, 20 dollars to check in luggage.

any thoughts? are they trying to recoup loss by maintaining high ticket prices?

i'd figure a cost country round trip ticket would be around 300 after tax and fees but that's nowhere near what i paid.

 

[iamwiz82]

Many airlines hedged their oil prices at or near peak.

 

[hanoverphist]

it was 1.83 this morning on the way to work. i was shocked and amazed.

 

[ViviTheMage]

If I was in the airline business, I would be locking in prices for the next 10 + years

1.65 here for unleaded!

 

[LS21]

because they dont have to lower the prices

 

[CptCrunch]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Many airlines hedged their oil prices at or near peak.

this. They bought the future oil usage based on previous months prices. When they re-new their oil price contracts, it will lower the prices, but not by much. They are still greedy.

 

[Gibson486]

because people are still buying tickets.....

 

[PepePeru]

they've cut flights?

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: CptCrunch

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Many airlines hedged their oil prices at or near peak.

this. They bought the future oil usage based on previous months prices. When they re-new their oil price contracts, it will lower the prices, but not by much. They are still greedy.

at 100++

lol

 

[Farang]

SEA - NYC round trip I found $300 for the first half of December on Kayak. I think you might just suck at finding airfares

 

[HN]

i picked up an outbound ticket from LAX to JFK on virgin america for $135 after taxes/fees. thought that was pretty cheap. it helps because i really wanted to try the new snazzy planes. now...as for the return flight...haven't quite gotten around to that yet :laugh:

 

[Joemonkey]

Gas was 1.55.9 yesterday, and i got a 3c discount for using my debit card + PIN. I haven't paid $1.52.9 since I can remember...

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: CptCrunch

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Many airlines hedged their oil prices at or near peak.

this. They bought the future oil usage based on previous months prices. When they re-new their oil price contracts, it will lower the prices, but not by much. They are still greedy.

at 100++

lol

United hedged at something like $110/barrel. Now they have to put up almost $1 billion in collateral to cover their mistake.

 

[edro]

I heard the reason Southwest was still profitable lately was because they hedged the prices from 5 years ago.
Now that prices are low, Southwest may be in a world of hurt in the next few years.

 

[olds]

We just got 3000 gallons in. It's on contract and it seems the contract price was $2.87 a gallon.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: edro
I heard the reason Southwest was still profitable lately was because they hedged the prices from 5 years ago.
Now that prices are low, Southwest may be in a world of hurt in the next few years.

SWA's contract is only through 2009, that is at $51/barrel.

 

[Buttzilla]

guess i got sick of hearing them complain about high cost of oil and in order to maintain business they had to cut amenities. why not a rebate, or double points to maintain consumer loyalty and confidence.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: edro
I heard the reason Southwest was still profitable lately was because they hedged the prices from 5 years ago.
Now that prices are low, Southwest may be in a world of hurt in the next few years.

They hedged at something like 60-70, with their contracts set to expire relatively soon

You'd think that they would be able to hedge their bets at something more favorable then the other airlines (unless they've already negotiated, which I haven't read)

 

[Farang]

I just wish all airlines were like Air Asia. They recently expanded their service, now you can fly Kuala Lampur to London for $240. Unbelievable. I don't need to go from Kuala Lampur to London, but if I did..

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: edro
I heard the reason Southwest was still profitable lately was because they hedged the prices from 5 years ago.
Now that prices are low, Southwest may be in a world of hurt in the next few years.

That makes no sense. Gas prices in 2003 (5 years ago) were around $1.72 a gallon.

http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/1...y/gas_prices/index.htm

How would they be in a world of hurt if they are using $1.72 a gallon vs the $1.60 - $1.70 gallon of gas now? lol

The price of a oil barrel was between $25 and $30 in 2003. Oil Barrels are now around $50.

Help me understand this if I'm wrong.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Farang
I just wish all airlines were like Air Asia. They recently expanded their service, now you can fly Kuala Lampur to London for $240. Unbelievable. I don't need to go from Kuala Lampur to London, but if I did..

Yeah, it's easy to turn around planes when you don't let disabled people fly.

http://thestar.com.my/news/sto...on/18315133&sec=nation

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Farang
I just wish all airlines were like Air Asia. They recently expanded their service, now you can fly Kuala Lampur to London for $240. Unbelievable. I don't need to go from Kuala Lampur to London, but if I did..

Yeah, it's easy to turn around planes when you don't let disabled people fly.

http://thestar.com.my/news/sto...on/18315133&sec=nation

In my experience being bused out to the plane and walking up stairs is typical of budget carriers. I would assume it is because it is more expensive to park at the gate, but I'm not sure. If that is the case, then it is not entirely Air Asia' fault because there is simply not enough gate space for everyone to avoid using stairs. I wonder if there is some ramp system that works for disabled people that they could employ.

 

[SunnyD]

$1.69 as of last night here. Airline tickets won't go down because they'll make some lame excuse justifying the costs.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Buttzilla
visiting my gf in nh, yesterday, we pumped a full tank in her

lol.

It's even funnier given your name.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Many airlines hedged their oil prices at or near peak.

Shakes head.

Many airlines saw what was coming years ago and hedged as gas prices were going up. So, when gas was $4, they were paying much less. Just be glad prices did not go up as much as they could have 6-12 months ago.

For similar reasons, there is no reason to believe that airlines will reduce prices.