Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop

I think I'm seeing better ticket prices than I have for several years now, so I'm not sure if this is completely true.  But it could just represent a biased sampling (Canada, more than US flights).

 

Overall, for U.S. airlines, the trend is up; last month all the majors
went along with a $2 average increase on almost all fares. Those fares,
of course, are subject to competitive discounting on specific flights or
routes; Alaska and Delta have been battling over the Seattle market all
year, for example, affecting prices on those routes.

With Airline consolidation the last few years and some  budget airlines  changing their image and prices, there doesn't seem to be that downword  pressure for  most prices in the US

The cost of an Airline Ticket has little to do with the cost of a barrel of oil.

That's why I can fly to Sydney Australia for the same price as I can to New York.

That's 3500 miles to New York or 10,500 miles to Sydney. Same price.

It's solely based on the principle of how much juice you can squeeze from an orange.

While it's true that competition and cupidity rather than cost are the basis of pricing, fuel does factor in: when fuel is high, the airlines add surcharges, and when fuel costs drop, they seldom remove them!

Airlines and many other companies are determined to squeeze the public to the last drop of juice.

Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing_cases

and see that there's no honour amongst thieves.

Steal from one man and its theft. Steal from a thousand and its Corporate Policy.