Oil Above $100 Threatens to Keep Christmas Airfares High

The signal here is that fuel, not demand, is now the swing variable for holiday pricing — a cost-push story rather than a demand-pull one, which typically hits leisure travellers and low-margin carriers hardest. It also undercuts the assumption that post-peak-season capacity would soften fares. The open question is whether fuel costs stay elevated long enough to be passed through before the holiday booking window closes, or whether airlines absorb them to protect load factors.