What this thread should REALLY be titled is:
Alaska, Hawaiian, and Spirit Airlines are the only ones
Virgin? They raised their fares, and only give the 'discount' where they compete directly against Alaska - ie, Alaska's price is lower, so Virgin kept their price lower in order to compete. So, in short, Virgin is gouging the customer as much as they can.
As to the comments that these taxes will apply retroactively, they won't. A company is prohibited from assessing a tax that doesn't exist. Since the FAA bill expired, the authorization to tax also expired. Can a store increase the sales tax they charge by 20% and then pocket it for themselves - of course not, and neither can an airline. An airline (or a store) can raise the price 20%, though.
Passengers who bought tickets before this weekend but travel during the FAA shutdown could be entitled to a refund of the taxes that they paid, said Treasury Department spokeswoman Sandra Salstrom. She said it's unclear whether the government can keep taxes for travel at a time when it doesn't have authority to collect the money.
The biggest news here:
Southwest airlines raised their ticket prices (by $8, across the board) - who doesn't LUV that?
