Sr. Barco

Oil is down over $20 and not a single post? What's going on here?!

S.B.

jtf560

Even at the current levels the furloughs, capacity cuts, and other bad stuff will have to happen. Most of the airlines that came out of bankruptcy projected oil at $50 to $60 per barrel in their new models. The current levels will still kill off the weaker airlines and furlough in the thousands. Not really gonna be good news until it is down to $70 or $80 a barrel. That is when some of the planned cuts will come off the board. The airlines all now realize that even if oil does come back down to reasonable levels (for them) that it can just as easily spike back up again and put them in the toilet. My guess is even if the prices do continue to sink to a more comfortable level for the airlines, they will still get rid of the gas hogs and as many 50 seat RJs as possible and still cut back quite a bit so that they are a little more able to withstand another spike and so that they can get the price of tickets higher more permanently.

Green Banana

That or Gloom and Doom is just more fun to talk about.

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Green Banana

Shaggy1970

Many airlines couldn't make money at 50 a barrel, what makes anyone think that they can make money even at 80?

Sr. Barco

I totally agree. That was pretty much my point.

jet320

I will soon go up, when the ???? bomb Iran!!!!!!

FlyJSH

What he said!

(Me not think pilot you good)

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We got the union, now we've Got To Work!

Spaceman Spliff

A valid question.

But I think this recent explosion in oil prices caused the industry collectively to realize it's going to have to raise fares and start increasing revenue.

Even if oil keeps sinking, I'm confident that the airlines are on the right path to demanding a fair price to cover costs, (gasp!) make a profit, and hopefully there will be a few bucks left for us.

The flying public will feel a little sticker shock in the short run, but in the long run, folks are going to continue flying (does anyone really have time, when on vacation, to ride Amtrack cross country?) and will adjust accordingly.

They're willing to pay, as a result of oil prices, a few extra bucks to have their Viagra overnighted on Brown or Purple. I think they'll pay a bit more to fly themselves, too.

MikeB525

What Spliff said. I was playing around with trips and fares on Continental's website the other day. What I realized as a passenger is that if I'm already willing to pay $399 round trip to see my best friend in PHX, another $50 or $70 in fare is NOT going to make or break the deal. And that's the way the majority of us are.

And just think of even how much better things will be once we lessen our dependance on oil in other venues (home power, cars, trucks, etc.) and/or find alternative fuels for jetliners.

HercDriver130

Paid 3.49 a gallon today... thats nearly 50 cents off the high a few weeks back.