Tagged With "cost-of-living"

It's great news for budget travelers. I took the Ouigo train from to Marseille in 2013 and loved it.

Yet another drop in service, but one that likely will have minimal impact on most customers. If it saves millions of dollars, and the savings are used to reduce company overhead (say instead of bonuses for executives), I think consumers will be supportive.

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.

There are websites devoted to helping people sort out the possibilities worldwide. This is one I've found useful: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings.jsp

You may have noted the recent drop in gas prices at the pump. The airlines have noticed it, too, with a $1.6 billion savings in fuel costs over recent months. So why do the prices of tickets stay so high...and even rise?   An AP travel article...

America's most persistent attempt at starting a new airline is out there again, looking for crowdfunding to get off the ground. First as Family Airlines, and since 2010 as Avatar Airlines, they've been trying for take-off since 1992, with plans for an...

Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant are U.S. ultra-low-cost carriers famous for wanting a nickel for everything they don't charge a dime for—and they're also among the very few U.S. carriers not offering WiFi.    If you've wondered why,...

Pay-to-talk may be coming soon to more reservation and customer-service centers   Frontier Airlines has announced the end of its toll-free customer service line, joining a number of airlines and other companies who've decided that the cost of...

Gorgeous groceries...but can you afford them?     Photo: Lyzadanger / Wikimedia   Travelers planning vacations in Europe quickly become aware that some countries are more expensive than others; plenty of us have suffered sticker shock...

Frances train service, SNCF, is expanding its low cost TGV service, Ouigo and tripling it's fleet of coaches called Ouibus.   Ouigo was set up in 2013 to run TGV trains from Paris to the south of France, namely the cities of Lyon,...

Denver-based Frontier Airlines, whose goal is to become an "ultra low-cost" carrier, has dropped its fares by about 12% (which works out to about 18% below Southwest on competing routes).    The fare cuts come with a big "but" but with no...

American is shifting gears on competing with the ultra-low-cost carriers; instead of discounting regular fares, it will add a new 'Basic Economy.'

Sharpen your pencil: The discount and ultra-lowcost carriers are not always the cheapest choice!

Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant gets its first New York area flights, and also adds Denver and Ogdensburg.

Ultra-low cost carriers like Spirit are pushing the majors into the no-frills arena. United has announced it will follow Delta next year, and offer "basic economy" style fares with no baggage, upgrade or airport privileges, and American has indicated that it's exploring the idea, too.  Fares like that—Spirit calls it a "bare fare"—have been the staple of flying on the ULC carriers such as Spirit and Frontier, but the majors have resisted up to now because they have wanted to...

Eight Asian low-cost airlines are hooking up their booking and ticketing to make it easier for travelers to choose them over growing rivals.

Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier is adding 42 new routes to its network, including two new cities in "over-priced and under-served" areas.

Change at the low end of American's menu of fare options isn't the only one they plan for economy flying. An upscaled version of premium economy will be rolled out, starting next year, for long-haul flights. http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/pr...title=premiumeconomy

They do have a great game going: Take it away from you, and then ransom it back. And there's more...in the next couple of days, Gumbo will have a news update about what may be ahead for the premium end of the plane, too!

Terrific photo!!

Volaris, a Guadalajara-based Ultra Low-Cost Carrier (ULCC) that has an extensive network in Mexico and also serves cities in the southwestern U.S. is pushing to increase its U.S. business by adding flights to further destinations, especially ones with...