So by your logic then if the oil price fell back to $49 a barrel then everything would be fine for the airline industry. Business as usual, expansion, more pilots urgently needed?
My point was an overnight APD induced fare price rise that is very similar in size to the oil spike fare price rise didn't cause any problem at the time because:
a) The economy was growing strongly, and
b) The marginal cost of kerosene as a component price of a ticket is peanuts as part of the overall cost of the trip as a whole
I agree the economy itself is impacted by energy costs. But this is not the same as companies blaming the price of crude for their business failure. After all, none of them have a competitive advantage over one another when it comes to fuel price.
The consumer could easily and willing pay the (max) 25% fare price increase needed to cover the oil price going from $70 to $140 ** IF ** his house had gone up another £20k this year, his bonus had just been paid and he felt confident about the future.
Oil is a sideshow.