High fuel prices lacerated the American familiar and they and impaired many industries, but what about the airline industry? The transportation sector relies on fuel to move around products in people and high fuel prices do impact this industry. Do high fuel prices hurt the airline industry as well? This is indeed a very good question and recently someone had asked clarification on this subject from an online think tank member when they stated;

On average when the fuel prices rise, is it the airlines themselves that take the blow cost wise, or do they raise the price in airline tickets to cover the cost?

The Airlines will attempt to pass on costs and we are seeing this now.

The end of a activity or charge is to enter upon a profit and to do so they must perform a desired service or make a needed or desired product that the customer or consumer is willing to impart a unit of trade for; a dollar or many dollars you see? When fuel prices go up in the transportation sector business must find ways to pass on these costs and streamline their operations to do more, carry more, more efficiently.

This subject came up recently when someone asked a moderator of an online think tank to explain.

Are airline mark rate surcharges a start of consumer charge gouging? Some think so, when they charges show up after they have already purchased the ticket online at a .Com website. But if the small print says this maybe possible or if the company calls you back due to changes is it price gouging? Or right sizing due to rapid oil price raises in oil future commodities?

The extra surcharges really piss off customers, but the sudden price spikes can kill an entire quarter for an airline and harm investors [also consumers] and we must also realize that the FTC has not gone after OPEC? That is all about price fixing.

Are consumers whereas aching tailor-made to the high-fuel prices, airlines or misleading advertising when fuel surcharges are tacked on? Should the upper hand investigate airlines or .Com travel sites who sell tickets online over possible price gouging? Does it makes sense to make more laws or regulations for the travel industry or airlines over this issue?

You see when you ask about Airlines and advertised prices and we look at possible intervention for false advertising, misleading or deceptive marketing, I would say this might be a really "warm and fuzzy" for the consumer to keep the peanut gallery thinking the government really gives a flying F and make for some distractive headlines in the mass media hysteria, but it can solve little else in the over all situation.

We have some "Real" energy issues in all industries and not just in the Airline Sector and "The Ayn Rand affect" is making it worse as folks complain and call foul against free market participants and about oil companies, rather than considering the commodity traders and manipulators or the over regulation which has curtailed supply infrastructure unnecessarily in the name of the environment you see.

People are so caught up in the game they cannot for the life of them figure out why the game exists in the first place.