Just Another Reason to HATE Flying

There are a few private industries I think are so out of control the government needs to step in and reform them.  This may sound communist or socialist to some, but I think the United States can stand a little more of the government working for the people.

One of these industries is the oil industry.  The summer before My Husband and I got married, gas in Massachusetts was $5.00 gallon.  You know how much profit Exxon Mobil made in 2008?  They registered $45.2 BILLION in profits, according to the Washington Post.  That's just not right.  With gas that high, oil companies should be BREAKING EVEN...managing to pay all their employees and keep themselves afloat, but that's is absolutely it.  Five dollars a gallon and after everything is said and done, almost 10 BILLION times that in pure profit?  I'd say that's bad business and the government has a right to step in.

Now the oil companies should be joined by the airlines.  I know they took a hit with that crazy-petrol summer and that's when a lot of this nonsense started, but now that barrels of oil are down to a "manageable" price, airlines refuse to remove the fees they put in place to try and even out their fuel losses.

Now you pay for beverages, carry on luggage and the chance to choose your seat in Coach (which is what I discovered the last time My Husband and I flew).  It's $15 on American Airlines to select a seat in Coach ahead of time...if you opt out of this, the airline assigns you a seat at its discretion.  I gotta tell you, the gall of someone asking me to pay $15 to ensure I fly next to My Husband made me want to hit somebody.

My newest issue has to do with taking advantage of Americans attempting to get out of Japan.  I feel for these people, since the Marine base on Okinawa is full of folks just like me.  I came across this article last night, and I just had to share it with you.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-grandmother-says-airlines-gouging-americans-fleeing-japan-20110317,0,5003272.story

According to the story, flights from Japan to the United States run about $1500 round trip per person (of course, not accounting for baggage or seat fees).  The average price of flights now is between $4000 and $5000 ONE WAY.  The most interesting point was in a comment below the story, where reader Shannon Hanks disputes the airlines' position the flights are so expensive because they're booked on short notice:

"Bought a one-way ticket with AA from Seoul to th [sic] US a few weeks leaving on June 1st.  This ticket cost around 1200 USD and is still ofered [sic] for this price.  It flies from Seoul into Tokyo and then to Dallas, Texas.  BUT if you just want to fly from Tokyo to Dallas minus the Seoul leg of the trip it costs you 3-4,000 USD and this is not a last minute ticket. Terrible thing for the airlines to do at a time like this!"

Pardon my language, but this is fucked up.  How is this not against the law?  Is anyone watching these airlines to make sure this kind of pricing is kosher?  Where is the BBB when you need it?

People are not going to stop flying, just like they're not going to stop putting gas in their cars.  I honestly don't think "supply and demand" applies in these two industries.  There will always be demand...so someone who has more than "billion$ on the brain" needs to regulate the supply.