Blog: www.kgmb9.com/howard

Video Headline: Gas Across the Globe

You know gasoline costs a lot more in Europe, but did you know how MUCH more? A viewer asked me to find out and say on the air. Well, in Britain petrol sells for what works out to eight-50 per gallon. The Dutch pay a buck-40 more than that. I suspect that Europeans paying eight or nine dollars a gallon think our whining about four dollar gas is a hoot of the first order. The Japanese, by the way, tend to pay more than we do but less than Europeans do. Maybe it will help to consider some things that are different in Europe. Its cities, centuries older than ours, have streets and parking spaces too small for any but subcompact cars. Convenience drove the Europeans to smaller cars before fuel prices did. Europe also has excellent rail systems, not just within urban areas but between them. The cities of Europe are close enough to each other that high-speed trains are faster than planes when you figure in the hassle of getting to the airport.

Other Business Headlines:

The Wall Street Journal this morning answers a question that has probably occurred to you each time you fly -- how much of your ticket price goes to fuel? The Journal costed out some flights between LAX and JFK. It founded that some fares were below 400 dollars but fuel per seat ranged from 300 to 500 dollars. Amazing!

Hawaiian Airlines' newest monthly traffic report is VERY interesting. Passengers boarded is up 27% but revenue passenger miles is up 5%. What that means is, lots of extra passengers on the short interisland routes. And THAT in turn tells you something about Hawaiian's soaring fuel bills. Interisland flights use way more fuel for the revenue because takeoffs consume vast amounts of fuel compared to cruising.

Island Air is backing out of mainland air service contract before launch. The service, to small cities around Kansas City, was to have started in September. Unable to meet the deadline, Island Air management decided it would be better to relinquish the contract altogether than make those cities go months without service.

---