The Airlines and Fuel

American Airlines announced that it will cancel some flights because of fuel costs. Also within the last month, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Among many issues facing the airlines was the price of fuel. Of course, the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina didn't help their woes, it actually fueled (no pun intended) the problem.

How did we get to such a state where huge corporations are being forced to cut back on their services, lest they go out of business? More importantly, is there anything that we can do help the situation?

Everyone knows that the main issue is the fuel, something for which we depend greatly on other countries. But do we really have to? If we can somehow get around OPEC, and pay alot less for fuel than we are currently, we just might be able to help these crippling companies. Since 9/11 the airlines were struggling because more people are afraid to fly. The industry had to invest alot of money into security at all our airports, to ensure the safety of travellers. The war on terror caused the price of oil to go up, all this at a time when less people are flying, less money is coming in, yet more money needs to be spent.

Virgin Atlantic is planning to acquire their own oil refineries to bring down the price for jet fuel. If we started drilling for crude oil, will that not bring down the price of oil? Why is it that when a natural disaster like Katrina upsets the price of oil people try to do whatever they can to bring the price down, but when the price of oil is in the hands of OPEC nobody decides that it's enough and we should begin drilling for oil?!