www.CostaRicaTicas.com

A few years ago when gas was much cheaper I took a trip to Europe on a buddy pass. The Delta ticket agent informed me that the price of the tickets($410) just covers fuel although I suspect it covers meals and a couple incidentals.. But, lets just say it takes about $400 in fuel three years ago to get someone to Europe. How much would that make the fuel cost adjusted to today's prices, tomorrow's prices, etc? Lets consider flights to other mongering destinations(Rio and San Jose in particular).. I noticed fairs to Europe before the summer rush(beginning June 1st) were actually cheap. You could fly to Amsterdam any time in may and come back in June for $500-$540 out of Atlanta- a pretty good deal. But book a flight right now that takes off June 1 or later and you're looking at close to $1,200 which is actually quite high to say the least. I have not tracked to-Europe prices during summer months for a few years but know I could have taken a flight three years ago for $650-$800 with a couple weeks notice. How much is this because of fuel costs? I don't know. I think the public is conditioned to expect higher cost of travel primarily due to fuel costs so I'm not expecting much backlash or price wars over it- the airlines cannot lose money. Might the $400-$500 tickets to SJO be prices of the "good ole days" soon? I do not know the answer but do believe with fuel cost doubling and probably going higher in the next couple years, we could easily see $800 tix to Europe or Rio on the low side even off season and $600 end up being a deal to SJO soon enough. Summer prices to Colombia seem to be jumping a couple hundred dollars right now. I don't know how much of these summer increases are seasonal and how much might forever baked in now.

IMHO, you never know.

It seems that there is no rhyme or reason as to why the airlines do what they do. One day, the airfare is $800, the next day it's $350, and the day after that, it's back to $800. Some days, it's cheaper to fly 4000 miles from Canada to CR than it is to fly direct from Miami to SJO. Go figure.......

There seems to be so much volatility in the Airline Industry lately, that it's hard to speculate on just about anything in the future. I think we're all going to have to take the "wait and see" stance for the time being.

Mucho Gusto

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

I think it's a case of "we've had it too good for too long" and it's time to "pay the piper". Think about it.....a year ago I flew to Costa Rica from Washington DC for $270.00 total, roundtrip, direct, non-stop and they even gave me a fairly decent meal on both flights to and from. They had to be losing money on my particular fare. It was hard to believe at the time they could actually fly me that distance and feed me for $270.00.......I suppose the fact of the matter was........they couldn't.

Zebra

One thing in our favor is the new jets are much more fuel efficient than even five years ago, and most fleets are upgraded to 767/757/Airbus fanjets. The old 727/737 turbojets were fuel guzzlers.

Some airlines like Southwest buy fuel option futures to level out the price spikes.

It appears demand is 90% of the reason for ticket prices. For example even though fuel from Miami is nothing compared to fuel from Chicago, since it is a quick weekend hop from Miami the demand is sky high.

Trans-Atlantic Traffic Lanes Are Getting Busy
from the NY Times.

As the peak European travel season approaches, a number of major airlines are adding flights across the Atlantic.

Next month, Continental Airlines plans new flights from Newark to Cologne, Germany; Barcelona; and Copenhagen, bringing the total of European cities it flies to from Newark to 26. It is also adding flights on existing Newark routes, including to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Manchester, England.

With new service from Atlanta to Düsseldorf, Copenhagen, Athens and Edinburgh, among others, by summer, Delta will have more than 50 flights daily to 26 European cities. This summer, Lufthansa plans 227 flights a week from the United States to Germany, site of the World Cup, up from 214 last year.

Though the number of British Airways flights is only up slightly from last year, it is using bigger planes on certain European routes. On its three daily flights from Boston to London, for example, it is replacing Boeing 777's with 747's, raising capacity about 8 percent.

In all, the number of departures to Europe for June, July and August is rising about 7 percent to 35,223, according to Back Aviation Solutions, an industry-consulting firm, with Delta offering more than any other carrier. The number of seats to Europe is up 5.7 percent.

Despite the added capacity, fares are higher than last year. The average roundtrip economy fare from the United States to Europe booked in early April for summer travel was $898, up from $882 in the same period last year, according to Harrell Associates, an air-fare analysis firm. And with demand high, don't count on a major price drop.

And with departures booked now for June at more than $1000(Amsterdam) a lot of people will be wishing they booked in April.

Booked a ticket last week for June on TACA....LAX to SJO, roundtrip $570 (tax and fees)...

Nov 05 it was $542

Only a $28 difference 8 months later, but I would book as soon as possible, because the fares will start going up Big Time very soon; no doubt.

Most airlines start screwing you for more money as they get less seats on the jet. They also overbook the hell out of most flights.

Never could figure out why the guy on one side of me paid $200 less than me and the guy on the other side paid $200 more.

Any Airline Experts out there who can give some reasonablity to this?

Fuel prices have to have some effect but I think a lot of it is supply and demand. Costa Rica has become a much more popular tourist destination over the last few years. Planes are flying full without bargain sales during high season and the US summer travel season. The best time to find bargains is the late spring and fall as well as early winter before the peak high season. Sales have become much harder to find for me the last year or so and prices have risen some but not drasticly when there is a sale. The sales are just fewer and farther between for my location.rbc100

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I have to say I am seeing some low fairs to Rio for June/July- $555 plus tax from Atlanta. Continental is only asking $432 Atlanta- SJO in to June.

last trip in january was 625. from Indy to sjo....this trip....tic...tic...tic...the price was the same, but then I looked at cleveland.....going for only 440. tic, tic,tic ....45 minutes more drive for me, duh, think ill drive a little further!!!