Airlines Reap Benefits From Cheaper Fuel, Consumers Not So Much
- Base prices were essentially unchanged last year from 2014
- Companies seen keeping 20% less of low-fuel benefit in 2016
Oil Declines as U.S. Stockpiles Increase
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Rob Britton, who spent two decades with American Airlines Group Inc., is unapologetic in defending the profits his former employer and other U.S. carriers are making. Sure, fuel’s cheap, but what company cuts prices as soon as its costs shrink?
“Amtrak doesn’t lower its prices because diesel is cheaper, and New York taxi cabs don’t lower their prices because a tank of gas is cheaper,” said Britton, now an aviation consultant in Washington.