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Airfare up due to high fuel price
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S.F. AIRPORT (Map, News) - Local commuters already reeling over pumping gas for around $4 per gallon might not want to check airfare prices anytime soon.
With fuel prices at record highs, San Francisco International Airport’s most popular airlines hiked fares as much as $50 recently, and analysts expect most other carriers to follow suit.
United Airlines, which flew 42 percent of SFO’s 26 million passengers last year, recently increased round-trip fares between $4 and $50, depending on trip length. A United flight from SFO to New York — the airport’s second-most popular destination — jumped $50. Officials said jet fuel costs rose 30 percent last month and the cost to fill up a United 747 was $173,000 as of late last week. Fuel is the largest expense for flights.
Continental Airlines, the fifthmost popular airline at SFO, also recently hiked fares as much as $50. Northwest Airlines already reportedly decided to raise ticket prices Monday. Two of the other top five carriers — Delta and American airlines — also matched the $50 maximum increases, said Rick Seany, chief executive for farecompare.com, which receives eight daily updates on fare prices directly from airlines.
“These [fuel] costs have to be passed onto the customers; there’s no other way to do it,” United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.
“It’s pretty much an unprecedented increase,” Seany said. “It’s going to be bad for a while.”
To save on costs, fliers should try to buy tickets for flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and during nonpeak hours, Seany said.
The increased fares should result in a substantial reduction in leisure travel, said Robert Mann, a New York-based aviation analyst. SFO patron and United passenger Mike Smith would agree.
“I usually fly for business quite often — but with family flights, yes, [the increased fares] would be a deterrent,” Smith said at SFO Monday.
Smith also noted that United and four of the five most popular SFO carriers have also recently begun charging more for extra and overweight luggage, or allowing passengers to check fewer bags for free.
Two low-cost carriers at SFO — JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines — are reportedly not going to be increasing ticket prices.
“Simply because another airline increases fares isn’t a reason for us to do so,” JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said.
Some airlines have discussed laying off employees or retiring older aircraft as a way of offsetting rising fuel costs. Airlines have also begun raising fuel surcharge fees on passengers’ tickets.
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:53 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 28, 2008 re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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1:11 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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12:49 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
re: "It saves to fly out of San Francisco"
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10:01 AM MST on Mon., May. 26, 2008
re: "Passengers are not happy with SFO"
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8:37 AM MST on Mon., May. 26, 2008
re: "Passengers are not happy with SFO"
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12:58 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008
re: "Virgin takes off while competitors lay low"
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11:38 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008
re: "Lawsuit talk buzzing about airport noise"
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5:26 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008
re: "Bay Area reacts to rescheduling"
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7:03 PM MST on Fri., Dec. 21, 2007
re: "2 flights grounded at SFO"
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1:00 PM MST on Fri., Dec. 21, 2007
re: "2 American Airlines flights grounded at SFO"
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Examiner Reader said:
I agree, Southwest aircraft, besides the Boeing 737-700, are pretty beat up and ghetto. Flying Virgin is the only way to go, clean new Airbus Aircraft, freindly staff, and tons of entertainment onboard. I only wish they flew to other destnations out of San Diego.
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Wai Yip Tung said:
Of course they do fly to New York.
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
But the low cost carriers out of SFO do not fly to places like Chicago, New York, or do they?
3 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
truly poor vender selection,food services extremely limited.... one only needs to travel outside of the U.S. to make a comparison ie zurich, heathrow vender food serivice quite varied... services in sfo are sooo predictably bland off the shelf vendors and services... ray okamoto frequent flyer
10 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I read this in the printed copy. It shows Philli coming in first. No wonder the managers at SFO are taking shots at the study. Not like SFO would be a jewel by the sea... but Philli?
9 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I find Virgin America a bunch of fun to fly!
11 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Go for it! The noise over Montara and Moss Beach has become unbearable on some days. And the claim that the airport cares and calls back is BS. I have called them on really bad days and not once have they had the courtesy to return a call and discuss the issues. They deserve what is coming for them.
10 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Once again the genius of the marketplace has brought us the current state of u.s. airlines. I suspect many of us flyers would be willing to pay a bit more not to be left waiting at the gate.
10 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
southwest is super ghetto with the lack of seat assignments, while it's lax it is not efficient and planes look beat up and in poor shape
72 agree | 84 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Southwest....is the only way to go!
92 agree | 97 disagree
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