Get Ready for a Red-Hot Summer of Air Rage

June 27, 2008— -- It's looking ugly for travelers at the nation's airports this summer, and supermodel Naomi Campbell isn't the only one who can't contain her frustration.

Earlier this month, a woman was arrested on a JetBlue flight on charges of assaulting flight attendants during a cross-country trip. Earlier this week, an ABC News story about an autistic toddler and his mother getting kicked off an airplane brought in more than 1,400 comments from readers, many about the tensions between airline passengers and employees.

No doubt travelers have plenty of reasons to be frustrated. Today, Delta revealed that even its best customers aren't immune to the changes brought on by the high price of fuel when the carrier announced it will soon add a $25 or $50 fuel fees to its frequent flier SkyMiles award tickets. Thursday marked the 20th attempted airfare increase of the year, according to Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, versus the 23 total attempts the airlines made last year.

As the price of jet fuel continues to skyrocket, carriers are increasingly asking passengers to pay more to help them break even. People are paying steeper fares for flights. They're swiping their credits cards more often than expected once they've arrived at the airport to pay extra fees.

Their money is helping airlines pay for fuel that now, according to the Air Transport Association, averages 30 to 50 percent of carriers' operating expenses. Add wild weather to the equation -- from floods in the Midwest to wildfires in California -- and delays could be the final ingredient in a recipe for meltdowns.

"There is an increase in hostility, and it goes both ways," said Kate Hanni, founder of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights. "I am, in both ways, seeing a rise in air rage and also a rise in employee hostility toward the passenger."

Hanni said her group's hotline for distressed travelers at 1-877-flyers6 is receiving about 400 calls daily, and that the repercussions of this season's fuel crisis is making the situation worse this summer than last.

"Our hotline has been ringing off the hook," Hanni said. "They're calling us saying, 'I've been bumped and I'm not getting the bumping compensation that I'm due.'