Airlines raise fuel surcharge

The latest increase in surcharges is adding up to $130 to the cost of a ticket to the mainland

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Hawaii, which already has the most expensive gas prices in the nation, has the highest airline fuel surcharges, too.

Most domestic airlines have yet again boosted their fuel surcharge by $20 for travel between the islands and the mainland.

The increase last Friday to $130 -- $20 higher than travel within the continental United States -- means that the airlines' fuel surcharge has now risen more than sixfold since last Labor Day, when it was around $20.

Tickets during the peak travel season in July for most airlines are now averaging about $730 to $740 at their lowest between Los Angeles and Honolulu, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of ticket-pricing Web site FareCompare.com.

Although he sees prices easing to the high $300s between Honolulu and Los Angeles by the end of October, he expects them to spike to about $1,000 around Christmas.

"If you can buy your ticket (for Christmas travel) today for $800, you might as well do it," he said.

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Most domestic airlines have yet again boosted their fuel surcharge by $20 for travel between Hawaii and the mainland.

The latest increase, to $130, means that the carriers' fuel surcharge has now risen more than sixfold since last Labor Day, when it was around $20.

Tickets during the peak travel season in July for most airlines are now averaging about $730 to $740 at their lowest between Los Angeles and Honolulu, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of ticket-pricing Web site FareCompare.com.

"Fuel surcharges to Hawaii are about $20 higher than they are on the mainland, and that makes sense because it's a longer flight to get to Hawaii," Seaney said. "It's probably going to get worse before it gets better with oil going over $120 a barrel. OPEC is saying it could get over $200, and I guarantee airlines don't know what they're going to do if it gets over $200, because they really can't raise prices enough to cover that before people quit flying."

United Airlines, whose 17 daily flights between Hawaii and the mainland are more than any carrier, raised its fuel surcharge to $130 on Friday. Delta Air Lines did likewise, prompting tour operator Pleasant Holidays to put a notice on its Web site alerting customers to book early because of the higher surcharge. Although Delta's surcharge is $130 for regular customers, the surcharge linked to Pleasant Holidays' flights is $110.

Hawaiian, American, Continental and Alaska airlines also have $130 fuel surcharges, while Northwest Airlines is at $110.

"We have to hope for oil prices in the near future to get south of $90, but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon," Seaney said. "I think airlines can live with $60 to $80 a barrel, and I think customers can probably live with that, too."

Seaney said that airlines sporadically began assessing fuel surcharges about five years ago at about $5 or $10, but they did not begin in earnest until last September.

For example, Delta, which flies twice daily between Los Angeles and Honolulu, had a fuel surcharge of $20 last September. By the start of this year, the surcharge was already up to $70. It was $90 on Feb. 1, $100 on April 1 and then a few days after that was at $110, where it remained until Friday.

Seaney said there is some relief for mainland-Hawaii travelers starting in mid-August, when the round-trip price between Los Angeles and Honolulu gets down to the high $400s and continues moving lower until the end of October, when it is in the high $300s. But starting around Dec. 15, the prices go up to the levels of midsummer, Seaney said.

"I think tickets will trend up (for Hawaii) significantly more than (on mainland routes) if someone doesn't come in and add some flights," he said. "If you try to get to Hawaii around Christmastime, it's going to be around $1,000. And if you can buy your ticket today for $800, you might as well do it. Airlines charge an additional premium on all tickets in nation for peak travel days of the year."

As for the difference between fare hikes and fuel surcharges, Seaney said there really is no difference.

"For domestic airfares, you take the base airfare and the fuel surcharge and add them together and add tax to it," he said. "Calling it a fuel surcharge gives it a name and blames it on fuel, but effectively there is no difference. The only slight difference would be if you have a corporate-negotiated discount, then you only get the discount off the base fare."