Fort Worth, TX – U.S. airlines have no immediate plans to reduce fuel surcharges they tack onto the price of a ticket. That's even with recent decreases of oil and fuel prices.
Most carriers have topped their fare hikes with increases in fuel surcharges, ranging as high as $170 per round trip in the United States and more for international flights.
Fuel accounts for up to 40 percent of the budget at many of the biggest airlines, topping labor as their biggest single cost.
The price of oil slid yesterday below $104 per barrel, its lowest closing price in five months.
Other than Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, all U.S. air carriers lost money in the first half of this year. They say that it's too early to eliminate the surcharges.
Southwest Airlines doesn't have fuel surcharges, and legacy carriers like American and Houston-based Continental Airlines often waive the fuel surcharge on routes where they compete with Southwest.