Airline Companies...

I have a question for all the airline companies that are complaining about cost because the price of oil is risen. Airline companies in Europe have been paying more for fuel forever, and still are paying more than their US counterparts, so why is it that those companies are not having so many financial problems? Virgin, in fact, is expanding, adding new stops to the Virgin America routes.

Could it be, more than anything, bad business management, combined with the fact that the airlines overcharge, and have been ripping off customers because they can? If you have to go from Los Angeles to New York, there aren't a lot of alternative ways to get there, and the ones that do exist (bus, train) take a lot more time.

The fact the government is helping to bail these companies out is also questionable. If that is occurring, why do so many US airlines feel they need to drop cities from their itineraries as well as charge passengers for everything they touch. Charging for luggage is ridiculous. It isn't even the amount of the charge that annoys most people, but the fact that it exists. It's bad enough they were charging for bad food and giving you a seat so close to the person in front of you that when your flight ends, you are cranky and suffer back and leg pain. Now you are also broke.