I just got this sent to me in my email....i am sure it is because of my frequent flyer membership because my husband also got a letter....something has to be done i fear...american airlines took out the movies and equipment to save 500 pounds...what next???....no toilets...???...Unless your in business class...then of course you can do your business...tee, hee, hee.....

 An open letter to all airline customers

Dear Ms. ,

Last week, crude oil hit an all-time high of $146, and the skyrocketing cost of fuel is impacting our customers, our employees, the communities we serve, and the economy as a whole. United, and the majority of other major U.S. airlines, are asking our most loyal customers to join us in pushing for legislation to add more transparency and disclosure in the oil markets. Please see the attached open letter from the leaders of the U.S. airline industry.

An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

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 www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com.

 Robert Fornaro
Chairman,
President and CEO
AirTran Airways Bill Ayer
Chairman,
President and CEO
Alaska Airlines, Inc.
 Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman,
President and CEO
American Airlines, Inc.

 Lawrence W. Kellner
Chairman and CEO
Continental Airlines, Inc. Richard Anderson
CEO
Delta Air Lines, Inc. Mark B. Dunkerley
President and CEO
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

 Dave Barger
CEO
JetBlue Airways
Corporation Timothy E. Hoeksema
Chairman,
President and CEO
Midwest Airlines Douglas M. Steenland
President and CEO
Northwest Airlines, Inc.

 Gary Kelly
Chairman and CEO
Southwest Airlines Co. Glenn F. Tilton
Chairman,
President and CEO
United Airlines, Inc. Douglas Parker
Chairman and CEO
US Airways Group, Inc.
     

I got one about a month ago. The airlines are hurting so much that they are asking customers for help? Wow... I wonder what the next year or so will look like for them. 

i saw a piece on t.v. that said the airlines are not going to paint their planes anymore. it takes 400 lbs of paint  to cover a plane. if that weight was not on their plane they could save millions of dollars each year on fuel because each plane would weigh less.

I don't get that....these planes way maybe 100 ton(just using a number), plus a couple hundred passengers, and they think shaving 400 pounds will save them millions of dollars a year....that's ridiculous.

I have not received this letter yet, but I have heard others who have received it.  So I guess when oil drops to lower prices they will start adding more perks during flights?

john, we are talking about the airlines. the people who claim peanuts and a coke is a in flight meal.  they went into great detail about using decals  instead of paint.

 I have never flown and don't intend to in the near future. I don't have any credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles so I did not receive an e-mail such as this. I did see a segment on TV that stated that some airlines are going to start selling tickets prices according to your weight. I think that is ridiculous!

i'm in trouble

hmmm... that's weird.