Originally Posted by
dlinsider
Loyalty programs were there to reward loyal travellers.People would pay to fly and after a few flights they may have had enough points to book a free ticket.Airlines then started to get greedy in selling points to anyone with a pulse(Credit cards,hotels,cars etc.) but in return have created a monster.There are way too many points out there and there have been studies that some airlines would need to fly only mileage tickets for 1-2 years without selling a single revenue(cash) ticket in order to eliminate the points from their own FF programs let alone their partners(Alliances,Credit cards,hotels etc.).Also fuel way back was $20-$25 a barrel so there has been an increase of 400%.
The cost of fuel impacts all businesses. You could find data to show that labour costs have risen 400%. Would you accept a "Labour Costs Surcharge"?
Do bus and coach companies levy a fuel surcharge? Or train companies using diesel locomotives? No, they simply quote a price which reflects their costs.
Not all airlines have fuel surcharges. Two I use (easyJet and Ryanair), for example, do not.