Cheap Flights available despite higher fuel cost!

December 13, 2005 (Press Release) -- These days the rising fuel costs continue to have lots of pressure on the prices of airline tickets. The very stiff competition between the Airlines to get the passengers coming their way is keeping the rains on the horse of cheap flights according to a BTI Canada Benchmarking Study. "In efforts to recoup expanding operational costs, air carriers are increasing existing fuel surcharges, but, increases were minimal. We do, however, expect to see further increases in the second half of 2005," says Michele Ferrari, Senior Vice President, Client Management, BTI Canada.The corporate airline industry is still very strong, including Canada and the US.The number of airline tickets sold for the current review period, January to June 2005, rose significantly by 24 per cent. The low-fare carriers are putting the most pressure on prices as they expand into more markets and force the majors to keep their airfares cheap. The head to head competition posed on routes with multiple carriers has become fierce and its a jungle out there. Lots of customers are also purchasing vacation packages that include cheap airfares in order to save on money and booking hassles. Having the reality of expanding operational costs, the same carriers that participated in the price reform would successfully rally for industry-wide fare hikes of $10 to $20 over seven times in the past six months and you could expect further fare and/or fuel surcharge increases. "In order to control air spend, it is important now more than ever to negotiate and support corporate deals with preferred carriers," Ferrari explains. "BTI Canada encourages companies to work closely with their travel management company to assess their travel booking needs and patterns and ensure they have a carefully planned travel policy that reflects their business requirements and objectives.