Securing Your Future Is Our Main Investment

Updated: 27-03-2024 - 12:00PM   8 7 CLOSED

Financial News

Apr 2004 Financial News

Airline tickets prices to go sky high

Apr 19, 2004

Sunday, April 18th 2004


The thousands of people who travel during the August vacation ought to brace themselves for higher than usual airline prices as carriers raise their prices in an effort to offset sky-rocketing fuel costs, and with projections that loads will, for the first time, exceed those of pre-9/11.

It is already almost impossible to purchase a 30-day return ticket on the regular commercial airlines flying between Trinidad and Tobago and North America for less than $3,000, and the prices will keep on going up.

Highly-placed sources at BWIA say the airline will have little choice but to increase the cost of its tickets and it is expected that one would have to fork out between $3,500 and $4,000 to travel this vacation period.

The source said: "As you are aware, it is customary for us to increase prices during the North American summer period because it is the busiest travel period and a crucial time for us to make some money to offset the low periods. But this time around, the prices will be higher."

The source says BWIA is "bleeding" because of the high fuel costs and something had to be done less the gains of the summer period are lost to the oil companies.

While American Airlines has not announced that it will be increasing fares in keeping with higher jet fuel prices, the company's North American operations has already announced that it will be passing on the additional fuel costs to the consumers.

Continental Airlines, which has a few flights out of Trinidad and Tobago, also this week warned about the effect higher fuel costs was having on its operations. In its first quarter results, the airline said continuing record high fuel prices severely impacted first quarter operating results.

The per barrel price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped about ten per cent in the quarter, hitting a high of $38.18 on March 17, 2004. Fuel prices remain at near record highs, closing at $36.72 per barrel on April 14, 2004.

The airline explained that had jet fuel prices been at Continental's five-year average (1999 to 2003) price, the company's fuel expense for the quarter would have been $102 million less.

-Curtis Williams

Source: Trinidad Express
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=22956697