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Sometimes, you must fly abroad
Airplane snack
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TEXT OF STORY
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Oil is down around $112 a barrel today. Tropical storm Fay avoided major production areas in the Gulf of Mexico. That is of course good news for many industries, including airlines. They've been squeezed by high fuel costs, and they've passed the buck on to us. And as Nancy Marshall Genzer reports, that's affecting how we travel.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: The Air Transport Association of America says domestic air travel this Labor Day weekend will drop about 6 percent from last year. But international travel is expected to inch up 1 percent. Part of the reason? Logistics.
Richard Gritta: You can't drive a car or take a train to Europe.
University of Portland business professor Richard Gritta says most business travelers can't afford to bypass international travel.
Gritta: In the Far East, face-to-face negotiation is -- there's no substitute for that.
Long, uninterrupted flights actually cost airlines less than puddle-jumping, says Air Transport Association spokesman David Castelveter.
David Castelveter: You spend most of your fuel on take-off and landing.
And so airlines are passing some savings onto international travelers. And best of all: they still get free pretzels.
I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
In the difficult challenges facing all the airlines in the world, Thailand had a very interesting way to add the cost is by adding fuel surcharge based on the daily price of the fuel on the date of the departure. The officials words is that they deeply regret the surcharges but it is necessary since it is totally out of their control. May be we can do the same in the US to help the US Airlines which allows all carrier to be charged a price mandated by FAA. That will be fiar and equitable way for the US to deal with our energy crisis.
