I’m starting to get fairly annoyed at these people who whine constantly about the “ever rising airfares”.
The average airfare (per mile) during January and February of this year was $0.1311. Comparing this to years past we can see that we are only now just beginning to reach the pre-9/11 ticket prices. Note, these numbers are NOT adjusted for inflation!
In 1978, it would cost you (after adjustment for inflation in current dollars) $0.2754 per mile to fly domestically. In 1990, that fell to $0.2175 and down to $0.1365 in 2006. Look up at the previous paragraph, currently ticket prices are at $0.1311/mile. Adjusting for inflation ticket prices are lower now then they have ever been in the history of air travel. What other good can you say that for?
People then start complaining about the lack of service. How they don’t get the meals and as many drinks as they want. That air travel is over-crowded and uncomfortable. Well, you don’t pay for it, you don’t get it.
Prior to the last few years and adjusted for inflation, the cost of oil was highest in 1981. Production was down, there was a war in the mid-east and it only peaked at an inflation adjusted $81.51/bbl. Now oil prices are fairly constant at $110/bbl. The largest costs to the airlines are fuel and labor, if the price of fuel has risen 119.98% (inflation adjusted figures from here) since 1978 and the revenue stream in ticket prices as dwindled by -52.39% where do you think the money has to come from to keep the airlines in business?
Everyone seems to think that pilots are loaded. Take a look at the average pilot wages as of 4/14/2008. $42,552.97
Sure there are those 30 year 747-400 captains that bring in those big bucks, but how many people have to be making less than $40k/year to bring that average down? The total cost of labor per Available Seat Mile (ASM) was $0.014 in 1978. Adjusted for inflation that is $0.0455 per ASM in 2008 dollars. The 2006 actual cost (again adjusted for inflation) $0.0315? There are fewer employees that make less. Service cannot be the same under those conditions.
I was reading an article from the Seattle-Tacoma Times about this poor pitiable woman who was lamenting the fact that a round-trip ticket being purchased a week ahead of time to Las Vegas, NV would cost her an unbearable $400. Poor thing. Lets think about driving hmm?
The average MPG of vehicles sold in 2004 was 24.7mpg so we’ll use that figure. According to Google Maps, Seattle to Las Vegas is 1,124 miles so round trip will be 2,248 miles. That comes up to 91 gallons of gas at $3.373/gallon as of 4/14/2008 that’s a fuel price of $306.94. Well, there’s 75% of the price of the ticket. Wait though, we’re not done.
The one-way trip time is 17 hours 51 minutes (so close we’ll just call it 18 hours). Driving an excruciating 9 hours/day this is now a two day trip instead of 3 hours on a plane. So we need a hotel. Estimated 2008 average hotel per night is $109 but this is a round trip so we’ll also need a hotel on the way home. Cost of the trip is now $524.94.
Two days worth of driving can make you hungry. We’ll need food for two days and we don’t have kitchen facilities on hand so we are forced to buy take-out. $8/meal. We eat breakfast at home the first day and dinner in Las Vegas the second day so we only have four meals each way so 8 meals total. Cost of the trip is now $588.94.
We belong to an entitled culture so I’ll be damned if I have to shorten my vacation due to those price-gougers at the airline conspiracy association, I’ll take off an extra two days of work to help make up those driving days. The 2006 average wage index was $38,651. Two days comes up to $297.32. Cost of the trip is now $886.26.
Hmm.. forgot maintenance. That car ain’t fixin itself. AAA puts average maintenance costs at 5.7 cents per mile in 2006. A 2,248 mile trip will cost you $128.14 in maintenance and tire costs. Cost of the trip is now $1014.40 (including lost wages).
Well, still not accurate, $1,014.40 isn’t the cost of the trip, it’s the cost of getting to your trip. Airfare is cheap.
–UPDATE: at 12:01pm MST on Monday 04/14/2008 I searched for a round trip airfare from Seattle to Las Vegas leaving Friday 04/18/2008 and returning Monday 04/21/08. Cost? $304/person
Want First Class? Only $549/person. Still cheaper than driving (and a heck of a lot more comfortable).
thanks for the research, links, and great article. I need to borrow some of your numbers to refute a guy at the “rockford register star” newspaper who was complaining about airfares the other day. I’m a 20+ year pilot with a major airline (making approximately 1982 wages) and I’m tired of people complaining about the fares and quality of service. When you buy a bus ticket, you get a bus ride! that’s what the traveling public wanted.