"Summer airfares double, triple, quadruple"

[phantom power]

This, by the way, is fucking up my business travel budget even more than it was already.

This week, six (American, (AMR) United, (UAUA) Delta, (DAL) Northwest, (NWA) Continental, (CAL)US Airways (LCC)) raised prices again for flights on many domestic routes where there's no non-stop competition from low-fare carriers. The result, says travel price guru Tom Parsons of BestFares.com, is that the cheapest tickets available on many routes in July are 100% to 300% higher than a year ago.

The biggest year-over-year price jump that Parsons has found: Detroit-Providence, where the cheapest ticket today sells for $595 round trip, or 365% more than the $128 price for the same ticket last June.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-06-04-non-stop-fares_N.htm

[eleny]

1. I remember when air fares were astonomical

When people flying would get dressed up for the trip. You never saw people wearing shorts and t-shirts on a plane. It's as if it was an event of importance.

[phantom power]

2. I think those days are going to make a comeback.

[eleny]

8. That's what my hubby has been saying for a couple of days

He remembers having to pay a thousand bucks for an emergency round trip flight between Colorado and Kennedy Airport back in the early 70s when his mom was sick. Yipes.

[TomInTib]

3. And just TRY using miles.

I checked rates ($, not miles) from San Francisco to NYC yesterday and decided not to go.

[Bobbieo]

4. Is America ready to change the way it does business?

[phantom power]

5. Telecons and web conferencing are taking up some of the slack.

We already do a lot of business that way. But meat-space meetings are sometimes hard to equal for effectiveness.

[global1]

6. This Will Have A Ripple Effect On Car Rental Companies; the Lodging Business; Restaurants; .......

amusement attractions; etc. Right down the line all kinds of other businesses will be hit. I'm hoping that the outcry from all of these businesses will hit Capitol Hill and the WH like a ton of bricks - and then - maybe something will begin to happen. The "domino's" are a tumbling down - this economy is in for a wild ride.

[Delphinus]

10. You and I are in agreement

with the tumbling down (or cause & effect or interconnectedness of all things) you're talking about.

[madrchsod]

7. if you have a fuel efficient car and you are not in a hurry

it`s cheaper to drive.....

[excess_3]

9. welcome news

spend your money at home