Travelers around the globe are increasingly grappling with a new reality: escalating fees, limited flight choices, and tough decisions on whether a journey justifies its expense.

The driving force behind this shift is the unpredictable rise in oil and jet fuel prices, which have surged significantly since the onset of conflict in the Middle East. The situation has been exacerbated by tensions near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for the world’s oil supply.

“The real issue here is volatility,” explained Shye Gilad, a former airline captain and current professor at Georgetown University’s business school. “Airlines are trying to predict the future and make strategic decisions based on those forecasts.”

In response, airlines are cautiously adjusting their operations, reducing flight schedules, and modifying pricing strategies. Experts suggest these changes will have a varied impact across the market, yet they are expected to influence nearly all types of travelers.

Budget airlines and their cost-sensitive customers are likely to be the first and most severely affected, according to experts. However, even those flying in premium cabins should anticipate increased fares and less convenient flight schedules.

Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, and then plunging Wednesday below $95 after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East that briefly reopened the Strait of Hormuz. But the uncertainty behind those swings remains, especially after Iran closed the key artery for global oil shipments again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

“When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said. “That’s why there’s a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices.”

In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust fares and fees as they wait for energy markets to stabilize.

“At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees.

Global squeeze, local effects

Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. That’s more than double what United earned in its most profitable year.

“For perspective,” he said, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5 billion.”

According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started.

Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.

U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees.

United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week that it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.

Flight cuts to cut costs

For some travelers, it’s not just the cost – it’s the uncertainty that’s changing how they plan trips.

Bill Moorehouse, 50, a solutions director at a global provider of business and technology services, routinely travels for work every four to six weeks.

“When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you don’t want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like it’s more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course,” the Cupertino, California, resident said.

For now, he’s staying closer to home.

“I think it’s a good time to do your spring cleaning and reconnect with friends locally.”

Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly.

BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America.

United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than “burning cash” on trips that can’t absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airline’s CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats this summer, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.

Travel plans upended

These moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than low-cost carriers, whose “no frills” model leaves them with less flexibility to absorb unexpected costs. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity.

“Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going,” Gilad said.

It’s already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she met as a teenager during a volunteer internship.

Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 – nearly double what she has paid in past years.

“It wasn’t even scratching the surface for the flight this time,” she said, “so I decided to delay the trip.”

But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasn’t missed in years.

“It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less.”

Renowned mountaineer Jim Whittaker, who made history as the first American to conquer Mount Everest, has passed away at the age of 97.

Whittaker, who significantly contributed to the outdoor industry by becoming the first full-time employee at REI and later ascending to the roles of president and CEO, died peacefully on Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington. This news was confirmed by a family statement.

“Whether he was at home, scaling mountains, or navigating the seas, Jim always aimed to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him,” expressed the statement, sent by his son Leif Whittaker. “His warmth, humility, and belief in the unifying power of nature have left a lasting legacy, encouraging us to care for both our planet and each other.”

Whittaker’s historic climb of Mount Everest in 1963 with Nawang Gombu marked a significant moment in mountaineering history, following 10 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s groundbreaking achievement. This accomplishment not only inspired a surge of interest in mountaineering across the United States but also transformed the reserved, tall climber into a national icon, leading to magazine features and numerous public engagements.

NEW NATIONAL PARK PASSES AIM TO PRIORITIZE ‘AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST’ WHILE INCREASING ENTRY FEES FOR SOME

Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, has died at 97, leaving a lasting legacy in mountaineering and conservation. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Whittaker had been working for REI since 1955, when he was hired by the co-op’s co-founder, Lloyd Anderson. The company’s popularity surged after Whittaker’s Everest climb, and Whittaker went on to lead the business from 1971 to 1979. Its membership grew from nearly 250,000 to more than 900,000 during his tenure, REI noted in a statement Wednesday.

The co-op credited his congressional testimony and other efforts with helping to establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, as well as Redwood National Park in California.

“Long before outdoor advocacy was commonplace, Jim gave his voice — and his leadership — to protecting the places we love, reminding us that wild places endure only if we choose to care for them,” the statement said.

Whittaker’s celebrity also brought him into the orbit of the Kennedy clan, and he became a close friend of Robert Kennedy, with whom he climbed a 14,000-foot (4,267 meters) Canadian peak. The peak was later named Mount Kennedy after the presidential contender’s murder in 1968.

Whittaker was at Kennedy’s bedside when he died and was devastated by the assassination.

ANCIENT LAKE RETURNS TO CALIFORNIA’S DEATH VALLEY AFTER VANISHING THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO
 

Robert F. Kennedy, left, stands on Mt. Kennedy with Jim Whittaker, second from left. Jim Whittaker’s historic 1963 Everest ascent made him a national figure and helped grow America’s outdoor movement. (AP Photo/Doug Wilson, File)

Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing with his twin brother Lou Whittaker in the 1940s with the Boy Scouts. At 16, they summited 7,965-foot (2,428-meter) Mount Olympus, the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle, Jim Whittaker recounted in his memoir, “A Life on the Edge.” When they reached the town of Port Angeles on their way home, they found cars honking and people celebrating: World War II had ended.

Jim Whittaker once reflected that the beauty and danger of his sport sharpened the senses: “When you live on the edge, you can see a little farther,” he once reflected.

His achievements on the remote, snowy slopes of Mount Everest and nearby K2, the world’s second-tallest peak, assured him a niche in the record books. He was shocked when Lou decided to skip the 1963 Everest expedition in favor of opening a sporting goods store in Tacoma.

But Lou Whittaker wrote in his own book, “Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide,” that he still got to share in some of his twin’s glory by filling in when Jim got tired of attending parades or other events in his honor.

“Only our families and closest friends ever knew the difference,” he wrote.

Lou Whittaker died in 2024 at age 95.

Jim Whittaker led many additional climbs, including the 1990 Mount Everest International Peace Climb, which brought together climbers from the U.S., the Soviet Union and China “to demonstrate what could be accomplished through cooperation and goodwill,” the family statement said.

50 YEARS LATER, FIRST AMERICAN TO CONQUER MOUNT EVEREST CONTINUES CLIMB
 

The legendary mountaineer and former REI CEO is remembered for his leadership, advocacy and love of nature. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

“Jim was a lifelong advocate for peace and believed deeply in the ability of shared challenges in the natural world to unite people across borders and ideologies,” it said.

Whittaker himself said one of his proudest moments came in 1981, when he led 10 handicapped climbers up 14,410-foot Mount Rainier. For them, he said later, “that was Mount Everest.”

Whittaker scaled Mount Rainier more than 100 times but did not take its familiar flanks for granted. The caprices of the weather, even on a comparatively modest mountain, “can turn a good climber into a beginner” in a matter of hours, he once noted.

Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called Whittaker’s legacy “just as impressive, and just as lasting, as Mount Rainier itself.”

“He pulled many a climber up the peak,” Inslee wrote in a social media post Wednesday. “He did the same for all our spirits. He still does.”

After years of risk on the world’s most dizzying pinnacles, Whittaker said in a 1980 interview that he hoped to “die in my sleep with the television on.”

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

In a revealing new documentary, two detectives have recounted a chilling accusation made by a 13-year-old boy against Michael Jackson. The boy claimed that he had seen distinctive marks on the pop star’s body that would only be visible if Jackson were unclothed.

The accusation, which surfaced in 1993, was directed to the Sexually Exploited Child Unit within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The allegations accused Jackson, a global music icon, of committing acts of child sexual abuse. This high-profile case centered on Jordan Chandler, a boy Jackson had first encountered in a restaurant when Chandler was very young. Their relationship evolved over the years, leading to mutual visits that would later come under scrutiny.

Rosibel Smith, an LAPD detective from that period, detailed the allegations in the documentary. She noted that they included not only inappropriate touching but escalated to more severe accusations of sexual abuse. The boy’s account of the identifiable marks on Jackson’s body added a disturbing layer to the claims.

In the documentary’s second episode, the investigator emphasized the significance of the boy’s description, suggesting that such details lent credibility to the allegations, as the marks could only be known if Jackson had been nude in the boy’s presence. This revelation added a poignant and unsettling dimension to the ongoing narrative surrounding the pop star’s controversial legacy.

In the second episode of the documentary, the detective shared the boy had informed police about specific markings on the singer’s body, which she said could only have been seen if Jackson ‘was nude’. 

After receiving this information, she said police prepared a search warrant for the King of Pop’s body, including his private areas, upon his return from his Dangerous World Tour, which was cancelled amid allegations of child molestation. 

‘We had information from the victim about Michael’s body, and specifically the markings on his body,’ she told the BBC. ‘So the only way that a child would see that is if Michael was nude.’

Meanwhile, her former colleague, Federico Sicard, also an LAPD detective, revealed the moment they told Jackson that they had a warrant signed by a judge to take images of his ‘private parts’.

A 13-year-old boy who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing him told police of marks on the star’s body that he could have only seen if the singer was ‘nude’, a new BBC documentary has revealed

Jackson was accused of molesting Jordan Chandler (pictured with the pop star in 1993) whom he had initially met at a restaurant when he was ‘very, very little’,

‘He said, “You a**holes”. The outcome was that the evidence that was provided by Jordan Chandler – it was confirmed,’ Detective Sicard said.

In the midst of the media frenzy, Jackson issued his own statement, unequivocally denying the allegations, branding them as ‘totally false’ and accusing the press of having ‘dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions’.

‘I ask all of you to wait, or hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don’t treat me like a criminal because I am innocent,’ Jackson said in his televised statement in 1993. 

The popstar also accused Jordan’s family of attempting to extort him for a $20million film deal. 

A phone recording, alleged to have been the boy’s father, Evan Chandler, was played on CBS news, where a man was heard saying: ‘If I go through with this, I win big time… I will get everything I want.’ 

Detective Smith maintained she did not get the impression of ‘money motivation’ from the 13-year-old, however, she said the ‘parents were a different story’.

‘The father did, in fact, ask for money to keep the situation quiet. So it did hurt the case a little bit,’ she added. 

In 1994, Jordan, now 46, won a $20million settlement from Jackson after his dentist and aspiring screenwriter father took legal action against Jackson for sexually abusing his son. The singer was never charged over the allegations, which he denied.

Jordan, whose father took his own life days after Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, has since gone to great lengths to disappear from public view and has only been pictured on a handful of occasions. 

As part of the settlement Jackson family signed with the Chandlers in 1993, they are prevented from ever dramatising the Chandler family or the incident.

Detective Smith said once the lawsuit was settled, it was ‘pretty much the end of [the LAPD’s] case’.  

Her colleague Detective Sicard added: ‘I felt bad because I was pretty certain that Rosie and I had a good case, but when the victim doesn’t want to testify, there is a saying that says ”no victim no crime”. So there was nothing that we could do.’

Rosibel Smith, an LAPD detective who worked with the unit at the time, the boy had informed police about specific markings on the singer’s body which she said could only have been seen if Jackson ‘was nude’.

In 1994, Jordan, now 46, won a $20million settlement from Jackson after his father and aspiring screenwriter father took legal action against MJ for sexually abusing his son

Following the allegations, Jackson’s public image had taken a huge blow with his team scrambling to ‘rehabilitate’ how he was perceived by leaning into his appeal among the black community, as well as promoting his relationship with Lisa Marie Presley. 

‘The allegations really changed how the public, I think, thought of him, and Michael had to kind of rehabilitate that image,’ Shana Mangatal, who worked on Jackson’s talent management team, explained. ‘People had been obsessed with Michael’s sexuality his whole life, and his managers thought it would be cool if the press found out that Michael had a girlfriend. Michael and Lisa started soon after the allegations had been settled.’

She added: ‘He knew marrying Elvis Presley’s daughter would be headlines everywhere. Everyone would be talking about that, and they no longer talk about this horrible time in his life.’

But controversy around the pop star would not subside in the years to come, with comments the King of Pop made in a 2003 Martin Bashir documentary called Living With Michael Jackson causing a public outcry. 

During the documentary, Bashir questioned Jackson about rumours of children staying in the musician’s sharing his bed with children, which the pop star confirmed were true. 

When Bashir pressed him about the appropriateness of young boys staying in his bedroom and how that could be perceived, Jackson said he ‘felt sorry’ for those who would think it was negative.  

‘Thats judging someone who really wants to help people,’ the popstar told the journalist at the time. ‘Why can’t you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone.’

The singer (pictured in Los Angeles in 1990) was never charged over the allegations, which he denied

‘I felt bad because I was pretty certain that Rosie and I had a good case, but when the victim doesn’t want to testify there is a saying that says ”no victim no crime”,’ Detective Federico Sicard said of the case 

When Bashir questioned him further, Jackson maintained that parents who would not allow their children to share a bed with a grown adult who was not a relative were ‘wacky’. 

His spiritual advisor, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who was a close confidant of the celebrity, was left in ‘absolute shock’ by Jackson’s remarks in the documentary. 

‘I felt shock. Absolute shock,’ he said. ‘Have you lost all touch with reality that you don’t even know how people are going to react to that?

‘Michael crossed lines that clearly are uncrossable. Sharing a bed with a child that’s not yours, even if it’s not sexual, it’s still insanity.’

Spring may have arrived, but worries about respiratory illnesses persist, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases emerging later than anticipated and a new COVID-19 variant making its way across the nation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently noted that RSV has been showing up later than usual across many parts of the United States.

“This atypical timing suggests that elevated RSV activity might persist into April in several areas. Emergency room visits and hospital admissions for RSV are most frequent among infants and children under four years old,” the agency reported.

For the majority, RSV manifests as a mild, flu-like illness. However, it poses a significant risk to young children and the elderly, potentially leading to severe symptoms and hospitalization, sometimes necessitating ventilator support.

“Unlike some other viruses, individuals remain quite contagious throughout the duration of their RSV infection. So, if a child with RSV is coughing and attends daycare, all the other children are at risk of exposure. It’s certainly one of those illnesses we are concerned about,” explained Sarah Nosal, a physician and president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

There are currently no treatments specifically indicated for RSV, though preventive treatments have been approved in recent years. 

RSV vaccines are available to seniors and pregnant women, with administration to expectant mothers believed to confer some protection to their children before they are born. An RSZV monoclonal antibody is also available for infants and young children. 

Nosal noted this past respiratory viral season was also unique in how the flu behaved. 

“Flu sort of had two spikes this year in that we had an early flu A,” she said. “We had what we predicted, and then had a late flu B as well, where we had lots of patients. And I saw those patients in the last month or so who were still getting this tail end of influenza B.” 

The strain that circulated later in the season was dubbed a “super flu” in the media. However, physicians emphasized that it was just another strain of the influenza virus, one that presented with somewhat more severe symptoms and appeared to evade immune protection more effectively.  

As states deal with a late RSV season, more are also detecting cases of the so-called “cicada” variant of COVID-19, with 25 now reporting the strain. According to the CDC, COVID-19 activity remains low, but some aspects of this strain are of concern. 

“This ‘cicada’ variant has had more mutations in the spike protein, which makes it a bit more different. It’s a more distant cousin, and therefore it’s able to evade some of the protection that we’ve had from prior infections and from prior vaccinations. So, it’s finding a place out there and being able to spread,” said William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. 

“Fortunately, it’s not more severe,” he added. “It’s likely to be a variant that is included the next time the covid vaccine is updated.” 

Nosal added that the extra mutations observed in the “cicada” variant, while likely giving it more of an ability to evade the immune system, also indicate it’s ultimately less able to cause infection. 

“The actual mutations don’t match as well to like human cellular morphology. It doesn’t kind of match and infect ourselves as easily,” she said. 

Schaffner lamented that this past season was affected by the mass layoffs at the CDC carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency. 

A study published this year found that among the nearly 40 CDC databases that were no longer being updated, 87 percent were vaccine-related. Among the remaining stagnant databases, four out of five pertained to respiratory diseases. 

While respiratory viruses from the winter continue to circulate, springtime allergies are also beginning to hit people, which could play a role in how individuals are affected by lingering viruses. 

“There are research studies that show just being exposed to pollen and other allergens, even if you personally don’t get allergy symptoms, increases your inflammation in your mucosal membranes and makes you more vulnerable to viral illnesses,” said Nosal. 

She noted that many people are prone to dismissing respiratory virus symptoms for allergies during this time of year and advised that they still test themselves if they’re feeling unwell. 

Due to the late RSV season, many state and local health departments have extended their RSV seasons and the immunization window for children, at least until the end of April. Schaffner advised that parents consider these options despite it being past the typical respiratory viral season. 

“RSV continues to be the leading cause of hospitalization in young infants, so being able to prevent that is very important,” Schaffner said. “And since the RSV season is extending, the recommendations have been to pediatricians and parents to still consider even though it’s kind of late in the season.” 

Both Schaffner and Nosal said planning for each respiratory viral season is essential to better outcomes for people. 

“For my chronically ill patients, I’m going to see them in three months. So I’m going to start seeing them again as we start to think about starting vaccination for the fall,” said Nosal.