A round-trip airline ticket from Redmond to Los Angeles that was available for as little as $220 last year is running $300 to $500 now, depending on the day of departure and other factors, according to Phil Arends, who owns and operates Desert Wings Travel Services in Sisters.

“The problem with airfares is they fluctuate so much … but I don’t expect them to go to the $200 range for a while,” Arends said.

Redmond passengers, like those around the country, are feeling airlines’ pain at the pump. Airlines say they’re forced to increase fares to cover soaring jet fuel prices triggered by record crude oil prices. Some carriers also have implemented new fees, including for the first piece of checked baggage, as they seek new revenue opportunities to combat higher operating costs.

Due to the rising cost of airfare, Arends said, he’s seeing more “panic buying,” or buying tickets far in advance to lock in prices. As a consequence, he said he’s also selling more travel insurance as customers seek to allay concerns about whether the airlines they’re flying will still be operating when it’s time to depart.

In the last few months, a few U.S. airlines unexpectedly ceased passenger operations — such as Aloha Airlines, which now flies as a cargo carrier — or shut down altogether, such as ATA Airlines. Both cited an inability to stay competitive in the face of rising fuel costs. Last month, United Airlines announced it would cease operating its discount carrier, Ted, in 2009 for the same reasons.

The critical state of the airline industry was reflected in a study by consultant AirlineForecasts, which predicted all the major airlines could be in bankruptcy by early 2009 if oil prices don’t drop, according to a report on the study Friday by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

“For me, (travel insurance) has become easier to sell because there is a question mark about carriers,” Arends said.

According to Linda Kundell, spokeswoman for the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, travel insurance sales have increased five-fold since 2001. She attributes the increase to customers seeking peace of mind if they have to cancel their trips as well as the increasing cost of travel.

“Travel prices are increasing, especially if you are going overseas, and people’s incomes are becoming more vulnerable right now, so you have to ask yourself, ‘How much money am I going to lose?’” Kundell said. “Essentially, it’s been the increasing piece of mind, but I’m sure the economy is feeding into it.”

Kundell said travel insurance generally runs between 4 percent and 8 percent of a trip’s cost, although a traveler’s age and state of residence are among factors that can contribute to higher rates.

Fluctuating fares

Susi Muggia, owner of A.C. Travel in Bend, said airfares continually fluctuate and special deals are offered from time to time; but overall, it costs more this summer to fly than last.

“Airline fares always change, regardless, but definitely costs have gone up,” said Muggia, who blamed fuel surcharges and higher taxes for the recent run-up in ticket prices.

Sometimes the increases can be illogical, she said. Muggia said it can cost as much as $495 to fly round trip from Redmond to San Francisco. But a flight from Redmond to Orlando, Fla., with a connection in Los Angeles, can be obtained for just $303 (for a round-trip, mid-September flight), Muggia said.

“Those nonstop flights are obviously the most looked at and those prices have really gone up,” Muggia said. “I think (airlines) know which markets to target.”

Airlines say they’re doing what they have to.

In an e-mailed statement to The Bulletin, Anthony Black, a spokesman for Delta Air Lines — which offers Delta Connection service between Redmond and Salt Lake City on a flight operated by SkyWest Airlines — said that “in the past year, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in fuel costs, and that increase has to be reflected in the price of a ticket.”

Doreen Loofburrow, the director of travel services for AAA Oregon/Idaho, estimates that fares this summer are up 10 percent to 20 percent from last summer. She said the distinction is that most of the increases in ticket prices are due to fuel surcharges and higher taxes. Loofburrow said airlines’ fuel costs are up 50 percent to 60 percent from last summer and she doesn’t see those costs coming down anytime soon.

“The cost of flying has got to increase with the added fuel costs,” Loofburrow said. “The airlines cannot afford to not increase the fares, so you will continue to see fares go up.”

Despite rising airfares and gloomy forecasts about fuel costs, Arends, of Desert Wings Travel Services, said business at his travel agency is up, as some customers who left for online travel sites are returning.

“I think with what’s going on, people want someone to hold their hand, and people I didn’t see for a while are coming back to us,” Arends said.