OT ? - Most Top 10 U.S. Airlines Now Have Fuel Surcharges -greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]Friday January 21, 3:15 pm Eastern Time
Most top 10 U.S. airlines now have fuel surcharges
NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Three more U.S. airlines matched $20 round-trip surcharges imposed by the biggest carriers, as the charges, motivated by soaring fuel prices, appeared to take hold in the industry.
US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE:U - news), America West Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AWA - news) and Trans World Airlines Inc. (AMEX:TWA - news) all substantially matched the charges, Tom Parsons, who tracks airlines fare moves for online travel company Bestfares.com, told Reuters.
But US air and TWA had not added the charges on select routes where they had lowered their standard fares to compete with low-cost rival Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - news), he said.
Southwest is not expected to match the charges, and Parsons said he expects that the bigger carriers may be forced to remove the charges on select routes as a result.
By Thursday, UAL Corp.'s (NYSE:UAL - news) United Airlines, AMR Corp.'s (NYSE:AMR - news) American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL - news), and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NasdaqNM:NWAC - news) had all followed Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE:CAL - news) in adding the charge, rounding out the top five carriers.
A tight rein on oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a bump in demand after the cold snap in the Northeast United States have conspired to drive up jet fuel prices near their 1990 Gulf War record in the past few days.
With fuel airlines' second-largest cost, the high prices, which rose throughout the second half of 1999, pose a threat to the carriers' earnings.
Of the top 10 carriers, only Southwest and Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK - news) had not imposed the charges as of midday Friday, Parsons said.
Midday Friday, the Standard & Poor's airlines index (^SPAIR - news) was down 1.25 percent, or 5.76 points, to 453.70.
-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), January 21, 2000