Gas prices come down slightly; airfares go sky-high

For once, I'm going to start off with some good news here on the economy front: Gas prices are down for the 18th day in a row! The national average for a gallon of gas is now at $3.88. And the Oil Price Information Service says it could even dip down another 8 cents to $3.80 if oil remains where it is today, hovering around the $124 a barrel mark.

Of course, oil has proved itself to be a little less than stable, and we can only expect some more turmoil as Tropical Storm Edouard roars through the Gulf of Mexico, likely affecting oil rigs in it's path. But for now at least, we will cherish our lowering gas prices.

Unfortunately, we aren't seeing relief in other segments of the economy that depend on oil to run. Take a look at the airline industry: Airfares are up on average 15 percent compared to a year ago, according to numbers crunched by USA Today obtained from the folks at FareCompare.com, Travelocity and Harrell Associates.

Take a look at some of the most dramatic jumps for so-called "bargain" fares compared to prices from only a year ago computed by FareCompare.com:

1) The ticket price for a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis on US Airways is up 276 percent. This fare shot up from $108 to $406 a ticket. Travelers are now paying one dollar for each mile of this trip.

2) The cost of flying from Chicago to Charlotte, NC on Continental Airlines is up 227 percent.The price change here is exactly $300. Remember when you could get two roundtrip tickets for that price?

3) A flight from Atlanta to Boston on Continental is now priced 226 percent higher.This ticket now costs you a whopping $560 for roundtrip airfare!

4) And, the price of flying from Dallas to Miami on United Airlines is up 223 percent. This flight is actually one of the "cheaper" ones, but it still comes in at over $400 after being less than $130 a year ago.

At play here is obviously the high cost of fuel; but, even if oil prices come down, don't expect ticket price reductions to automatically follow suit. The airline industry is expected to pay over $60 billion in fuel costs this year alone. The industry is coping by reducing the number of flights and routes they serve; and, by moving into higher margin international routes and first and business class service. They need ticket prices to stay higher just to survive what is otherwise a low profit margin industry.

That's why a so-called "staycation" (a vacation close to home) is sounding pretty good right about now, don't you think?