=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2008/05/25/EDTH10PKIS= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, May 25, 2008 (SF Chronicle) AIRLINE ECONOMICS HITS A PERFECT STORM Here's a travel tip for the summer season: You may want to stay home. That seems to be the message from major airlines, which are passing along the worst financial conditions since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Soaring jet fuel will cost the industry an extra $24 billion, and passengers will be feeling the pain as airlines impose a wave of extra costs to meet their bills. The red ink is also flowing due to an aging fleet, far-flung and unprofitable flight schedules, and low-cost competitors. Eventually, these problems land in a customer's lap like a spilled drink. Want to prepare yourself for the travel season? Consider shrinking your height (so you won't be charged extra for more legroom). Don't carry any luggage, surfboards or golf bags (all of them, even the first bag, will likely cost extra). Bring your own food and headphones (to avoid fees for meals and movies). Maybe kiss those frequent-flier miles goodbye (because scaled-back flight schedules mean fewer seats to grab). And don't forget plenty of patience, even though passenger ratings of the industry are the lowest in nearly a decade. Flying, it seems, hasn't been this chancy and uncertain since the Wright brothers. Prices will continue climbing while travel options shrink. According to many industry experts, things will get worse. "An environment of continuous disruptive change" is how the head of American Airlines termed it in a letter to employees last month. Bankruptcy looms for operations that can't tap into cash reserves, borrow against jets or slash employee rolls. These were the tactics that kept the business alive during a similar financial seizure two years ago. The difference this time is oil prices. Filling a 20-gallon tank with $4 per gallon gas for a family trip is one thing. But consider the thousands of gallons of jet fuel needed for a cross-country flight. Older "legacy" carriers such as American and United with higher labor and equipment costs have a harder time passing the price boost along to passengers when newbies like Virgin or JetBlue are offering cheaper tickets. Jet fuel made up 13.5 percent of airline expenses in 2002, but the percentage jumped to 29 percent by the end of last year, according to Department of Transportation figures. Hence the nickel-and-dime charges. Note that most of them, including even extra fees to buy a ticket from a counter agent at the airport, will be collected after a customer has arrived for check-in when it's too late to change plans. If the new luggage charges take effect, a family of four, with two bags each, could be hit with an extra $320 on a round trip. Airline travel definitely isn't going away. One example is San Francisco, where tourism is the city's top business. SFO is opening a third large terminal in 2010, after mothballing renovations for several years. Officials are confident that air travel will rebound. But the future will be much different. A traveler pulling up to the departure curb will likely see fewer airline logos and longer lines inside the glass doors. This summer could be a practice run. ---------------------= ------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".