The lawmaker urged airline CEOs to cut prices if fuel prices fall

A US lawmaker is urging the CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines to lower prices if the cost of jet fuel falls after a massive increase this year prompted airlines to raise surcharges, baggage fees and fares.

“If airline pricing is truly tied to global fuel costs, it must be truly responsive when those costs fall,” U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the airline’s CEOs. Delta Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airlines and Southwest AirlinesAccording to a letter seen by CNBC. “I call on you to publicly commit to reducing the costs associated with air travel when jet fuel prices decline. The American people deserve fair pricing models that reflect not only market conditions, but also economic fairness.”

Fuel is airlines’ largest expense after labor. Jet fuel reached an average of $4.88 a gallon in New York, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles on April 2, according to Argus, an increase of about 95% since the start of the February 28 attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran. The rise has been steeper in other regions that don’t produce as much oil or jet fuel as the United States

United declined to comment. Other carriers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Delta reported $2 billion in fuel headwinds this quarter and said it would “meaningfully” scale back its capacity plans, something other carriers are likely to discuss when they report results next week.

Reduced carrying capacity can cause prices to rise, especially if demand remains strong. At the same time, lower fuel prices could encourage airlines to expand capacity and reverse pricing.

When asked what would happen if fuel prices fell from their recent highs, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said last week that “fuel recovery is going to be important. No matter what we do, the degree to which we can retain any of the pricing power that we’ve talked about from industry rationalization, that will certainly help us strengthen our margins this year and obviously next year as well.”

Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines All have raised baggage fees since the attacks began, while airlines around the world have announced higher airfares and surcharges.

Consumers willing to spend more to travel have been driving the airline industry. Demand is holding up, Bastian told analysts last week.

“I think the premium consumer, the premium consumer, is explicitly immune or becoming more immune to the headlines and is not delaying their investment in the experience economy, waiting to see what the next headline is going to be, on the sidelines,” he said.