From 12 Airline CEOs.
Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now. For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain.
This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.
Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.
Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper. The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem.
We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting http://www.stopoilspeculationnow.com/ .
Richard Anderson
CEO
Delta Air Lines, Inc. Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman, President and CEO
American Airlines, Inc.
Bill Ayer
Chairman, President and CEO
Alaska Airlines, Inc.
Dave Barger
CEO
JetBlue Airways Corporation
Mark B. Dunkerley
President and CEO
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.
Robert Fornaro
Chairman, President and CEO
AirTran Airways
Timothy E. Hoeksema
Chairman, President and CEO
Midwest Airlines
Lawrence W. Kellner
Chairman and CEO
Continental Airlines, Inc.
Gary Kelly
Chairman and CEO
Southwest Airlines Co.
Douglas Parker
Chairman and CEO
US Airways Group, Inc.
Douglas M. Steenland
President and CEO
Northwest Airlines, Inc.
Glenn F. Tilton
Chairman, President and CEO
United Airlines, Inc.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Scam Alert!
A Los Angeles agency has alerted us to a new scam that agents should be aware of. The victim of the scam wished to remain anonymous.
An L.A. agency was contacted by travel agent claiming to be affiliated with an ASTA agency in Ireland. The Irish agency had clients coming to L.A., and they asked if the L.A. agency would be able to set them up with hotels, transfers, sightseeing and more. The L.A. agency was happy to comply.
After everything was set up, the L.A agency asked how the Irish agency would like to pay, and the Irish agency said they would pay via wire transfer. The L.A. agency provided their transfer information and then waited to receive payment. After several excuses, the Irish agency lost contact and the trip was off.
About a month later, the L.A. agency received a call from a woman in Connecticut who had used an online job site and had subsequently received a package from a company containing a check for $1,850 from the L.A. agency. The Connecticut woman was told to cash the agency check, keep 10 percent and send the rest of the money back to the company. Suspicious, the Connecticut woman phoned the L.A. agency to let them know about the bogus check.
Shocked, the L.A. agency alerted the bank, only to find out that two more checks for the same amount had been issued. The checks, which were out of sequence and didn’t match proper handwriting, were obviously fraudulent and the agency was not out any money as a result of the scam, but the bank has opened a fraud investigation, and matters have not yet been resolved.
The L.A. agency wanted to share their story so that no one else is a victim of this wire-transfer fraud.
If you have any questions or have been a victim of a similar scam, please let us know by leaving a comment or e-mailing us at letters@travelagewest.com.
An L.A. agency was contacted by travel agent claiming to be affiliated with an ASTA agency in Ireland. The Irish agency had clients coming to L.A., and they asked if the L.A. agency would be able to set them up with hotels, transfers, sightseeing and more. The L.A. agency was happy to comply.
After everything was set up, the L.A agency asked how the Irish agency would like to pay, and the Irish agency said they would pay via wire transfer. The L.A. agency provided their transfer information and then waited to receive payment. After several excuses, the Irish agency lost contact and the trip was off.
About a month later, the L.A. agency received a call from a woman in Connecticut who had used an online job site and had subsequently received a package from a company containing a check for $1,850 from the L.A. agency. The Connecticut woman was told to cash the agency check, keep 10 percent and send the rest of the money back to the company. Suspicious, the Connecticut woman phoned the L.A. agency to let them know about the bogus check.
Shocked, the L.A. agency alerted the bank, only to find out that two more checks for the same amount had been issued. The checks, which were out of sequence and didn’t match proper handwriting, were obviously fraudulent and the agency was not out any money as a result of the scam, but the bank has opened a fraud investigation, and matters have not yet been resolved.
The L.A. agency wanted to share their story so that no one else is a victim of this wire-transfer fraud.
If you have any questions or have been a victim of a similar scam, please let us know by leaving a comment or e-mailing us at letters@travelagewest.com.
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