Holiday flight costs soar

[unhappycamper]

Sgt. 1st Class Joyce Thomas, a member of the 21st Theater Support Command, stopped in Tuesday at the SATO Travel office at Kleber Kaserne to find out how much it would cost to fly her sister to Germany from the San Francisco Bay area for Christmas.


Holiday flight costs soar
By Matt Millham and Travis J. Tritten
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, October 16, 2008

Petty Officer 2nd Class Bruce Guerra said he hasn’t traveled home to Mexico in six years.

Airfare "is too expensive out here, that’s why I haven’t been home," said Guerra, of Sasebo Naval Base in Japan.

This Christmas, the sailor will finally make the trip thanks to an airfare bargain — $2,300 for his wife and him — that will take the couple through Singapore and Texas.

But others might not be so lucky. Fares in the Pacific ballooned this holiday season because of airline fuel costs, which have turned off potential stateside travelers. Fuel surcharges, which are tacked onto ticket costs by airlines, almost equal the cost of a ticket in some instances, said Betty Nakamura, manager of the International Tours and Travel office at Camp Zama, Japan. For example, a $500 ticket to the States could incur about a $660 fuel surcharge — nearly double from last year.

Round-trip tickets priced on Wednesday from Tokyo and Seoul to major stateside destinations during the holidays were at least $1,200 per passenger, and often much higher.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58173

[lynnertic]

1. Hm. I wonder if there's a Support-Our-Troops fund to help get these people home

to their families. When I was enlisted I spent the majority of my discretionary income on airfare (the rest on cabs).