It’s a small fee, after all
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: Oil is above $133 a barrel this morning.
Starting today, booking a trip with Disney Cruise Lines will cost an extra $8 a day, the latest fuel surcharge in the travel industry. Of course, Disney isn’t alone. Jeff Tyler has more.
Jeff Tyler: Disney is the last of the major cruise lines to tack on a fuel surcharge. Royal Caribbean and Carnival have been doing it for months. Are these additional costs having any effect on passenger logs?
Warren Miller covers the industry for Morningstar:
Warren Miller: It’s not going to have much of an impact on consumers attitudes at all. Cruise lines have historically been viewed as a great value vacation, where you get a lot of bang for your buck.
But the opposite is true for the airline industry, where consumers are getting less bang for the buck. Many airlines charge a base price for a seat, and extra for additional services. American Airlines’ broke ground with its new fees for each checked bag.
Miller says airlines hope such a la carte fees will help reduce sticker shock when consumers shop for fares.
Miller: If they’re looking online to buy their tickets and they’re seeing a price that’s $100 more than what they are used to, they’re going to turn it down right there.
He says Allegiant Air has been successful with this a la carte business model, and he expects other airlines will follow suit.
I’m Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
