Soaring airfares, new fuel surcharges and a race to raise bag fees — it’s been a grim few weeks for costs in the aviation industry.
Fuel prices have been soaring worldwide after the conflict in the Middle East disrupted global oil markets. Jet fuel prices are rising, forcing airlines to raise fares to pass along the higher costs to customers. But it’s not just airfares that flyers will feel the pinch on. U.S. airlines have reacted by hiking checked bag fees, while some international carriers are adding new fuel surcharges.
That’s coming on United Airlines, which made headlines last week when it became the first U.S. carrier to say it will begin selling stripped-down business-class fares in its Polaris and Premium Plus cabins.
The new ticket type mimics the basic economy fares that U.S. airlines have perfected over the past decade. Still, it’s one thing for customers to give up advance seat assignments and other perks on a carrier’s cheapest fares. But it remains to be seen how U.S. travelers will react to new add-on fees in the most expensive cabin, given that they may have already paid a base fare of $2,000 or more.
But that wasn’t all for United, which has been making headlines across multiple fronts since our last newsletter.
The carrier’s big MileagePlus changes went into effect last week, including major changes to how frequent flyers earn miles. The big takeaway: United is rewarding MileagePlus members who hold one of its cobranded credit cards while making big reductions for those who don’t.
I’ll leave it there for this week. Until next time …
Posts in this newsletter contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products, and this may impact how or where they appear. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
