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B1ackwater
Guest
PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Your ginger-ale doesn't come in a glass
anymore on most US Airways flights. On Delta you'll find yourself in a
thinner, lighter seat. If you fly JetBlue cross-country, you'll get a
dainty bag of 100-calorie crisps in place of the original snack box of
cookies, crackers and spreadable cheese.
Jet fuel is at $3.17 per gallon, according to the Energy Department,
up 200 percent from 2007.
With jet fuel prices so high, airlines have no choice but to scour
their planes for ways to lighten the load. There's no room for even
the smallest bits of dead weight, from redundant wing lights to extra
wires in the walls. Manufacturers also are using lighter materials in
plane construction.
"The pressure is immense" to cut weight, said John Heimlich, chief
economist for the Air Transport Association of America, an industry
trade group. "Every penny more per gallon adds $195 million to the
industry's expenses per year.
"You simply cannot make all of that up with fare increases."
Jet fuel, which the Energy Department's Energy Information
Administration tracked at $3.17 per gallon in New York on Tuesday, has
doubled since the beginning of 2007.
It outpaced labor as the biggest airline expense three years ago. As
of September 2007, fuel made up 27 percent of operating expenses for
U.S. airlines, according to the latest data from the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics.
The industry has struggled to keep up. Carriers have increased fares,
cut capacity, parked their gas guzzler planes, charged customers to
check a second bag, trimmed staff and pushed as many passengers as
possible to automated kiosks.
- - - - -
Throw out the glassware ? This is a sign that the end is near ...
Is there ANY airline operating in the black anymore ? Just
yesterday, Aloha Air said it was quitting - after 60 years
of business. Alas, this may not be a help to the other
carriers - it seems to cost more in fuel and maintenence
and all the rest to transport someone than that someone
can really afford.
They'd probably have to double ticket prices to just reliably
break even ... and that's assuming fuel prices don't go higher.
Joe Public can't afford to pay twice as much ... so .......
The fuel prices ? Part of it is govt policy, part of it is OPEC,
a BIG part is good old-fashioned petro-SPECULATION and don't
forget that China and India are now suckin' hard at the same
oily teat that used to supply just the 'west'.
In short, don't expect fuel prices to go down - ever. Neither
McCain or Obama or Hillary or even AlGore can fix it.
Which means, well, that the age of cheap transportation to
anywhere is OVER. A blip on the screen, one frame in histories
big picture, unsustainable, unrealistic.
Better start thinking locally ... buy from local farmers and
manufacturers, live near where you work (IF they haven't sold
your job to China already). The further anything has to be
moved the more INSANE the price will be ... and the age of EZ
loans to cover your EZ loans is OVER too, in case you haven't
noticed. Bread's up a buck and the circus has left town. It had
to happen eventually, and "eventually" is NOW.
So, what will America, the world, be LIKE in a post-airline,
indeed post-transportation age ? Wow ... I'll admit it's
something I hadn't given much thought to. As long as I've
lived it's been "ever outward, ever onward, ever cheaper".
Seemed like it was ALWAYS gonna be cheaper to get from
'A' to 'B' as each year arrived - why, eventually, they'd
pay US to travel ... right ? Charge LESS to ship it from
Singapore overnight ... right ?
Illusion.
Welcome back to the 1800s ... just with internet and hi-def.
Enjoy 'em because you can't AFFORD to leave home anymore.
anymore on most US Airways flights. On Delta you'll find yourself in a
thinner, lighter seat. If you fly JetBlue cross-country, you'll get a
dainty bag of 100-calorie crisps in place of the original snack box of
cookies, crackers and spreadable cheese.
Jet fuel is at $3.17 per gallon, according to the Energy Department,
up 200 percent from 2007.
With jet fuel prices so high, airlines have no choice but to scour
their planes for ways to lighten the load. There's no room for even
the smallest bits of dead weight, from redundant wing lights to extra
wires in the walls. Manufacturers also are using lighter materials in
plane construction.
"The pressure is immense" to cut weight, said John Heimlich, chief
economist for the Air Transport Association of America, an industry
trade group. "Every penny more per gallon adds $195 million to the
industry's expenses per year.
"You simply cannot make all of that up with fare increases."
Jet fuel, which the Energy Department's Energy Information
Administration tracked at $3.17 per gallon in New York on Tuesday, has
doubled since the beginning of 2007.
It outpaced labor as the biggest airline expense three years ago. As
of September 2007, fuel made up 27 percent of operating expenses for
U.S. airlines, according to the latest data from the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics.
The industry has struggled to keep up. Carriers have increased fares,
cut capacity, parked their gas guzzler planes, charged customers to
check a second bag, trimmed staff and pushed as many passengers as
possible to automated kiosks.
- - - - -
Throw out the glassware ? This is a sign that the end is near ...
Is there ANY airline operating in the black anymore ? Just
yesterday, Aloha Air said it was quitting - after 60 years
of business. Alas, this may not be a help to the other
carriers - it seems to cost more in fuel and maintenence
and all the rest to transport someone than that someone
can really afford.
They'd probably have to double ticket prices to just reliably
break even ... and that's assuming fuel prices don't go higher.
Joe Public can't afford to pay twice as much ... so .......
The fuel prices ? Part of it is govt policy, part of it is OPEC,
a BIG part is good old-fashioned petro-SPECULATION and don't
forget that China and India are now suckin' hard at the same
oily teat that used to supply just the 'west'.
In short, don't expect fuel prices to go down - ever. Neither
McCain or Obama or Hillary or even AlGore can fix it.
Which means, well, that the age of cheap transportation to
anywhere is OVER. A blip on the screen, one frame in histories
big picture, unsustainable, unrealistic.
Better start thinking locally ... buy from local farmers and
manufacturers, live near where you work (IF they haven't sold
your job to China already). The further anything has to be
moved the more INSANE the price will be ... and the age of EZ
loans to cover your EZ loans is OVER too, in case you haven't
noticed. Bread's up a buck and the circus has left town. It had
to happen eventually, and "eventually" is NOW.
So, what will America, the world, be LIKE in a post-airline,
indeed post-transportation age ? Wow ... I'll admit it's
something I hadn't given much thought to. As long as I've
lived it's been "ever outward, ever onward, ever cheaper".
Seemed like it was ALWAYS gonna be cheaper to get from
'A' to 'B' as each year arrived - why, eventually, they'd
pay US to travel ... right ? Charge LESS to ship it from
Singapore overnight ... right ?
Illusion.
Welcome back to the 1800s ... just with internet and hi-def.
Enjoy 'em because you can't AFFORD to leave home anymore.
