Over the past few months, we’ve seen the price of enery drop like a stone. According to the Energy Information Administration, the spot price of jet fuel mid last week was $2.34 per gallon. The cost of jet fuel one month ago (Sept. 19) was $3.19 per gallon, and the cost two months before that (July 2) was $4.33 per gallon. Despite the drop in price during that time, airline fuel surcharges have remained relatively the same — I’ll post an update to my September fuel surcharge report shortly.

I’ve said on several occasions that I didn’t think we would see fuel surcharges or additional airline fees subside even as fuel becomes more affordable. After all, these surcharges and fees are bringing in a substantial stream of revenue for the airlines that they’re not eager to lose and with full flights don’t have much incentive to drop.

The bulk of the fuel surcharges are targeted at business travelers, up to $170rt — one reason for this is that corporate discount contracts only get a percentage off the base airfare (not the fuel surcharge) so rolling the fuel surcharge into the base airfare reduces total revenue.

Of course travelers have been hoping that airline ticket costs would start to reflect the drop in fuel costs, and now travelers may have a voice in Congress. Today, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey addressed chief executives at the major airlines via a letter that asked what the airlines will do to decrease airfares to better reflect the current cost of fuel (not even an election year for the Senator …)

Menendez, like many others on Capitol Hill, has spent much of his time recently focused on the current problems facing the economy, and he sees rising airfare and increasing fuel surcharges as another burden facing many Americans:

“I understand that you need to recoup the losses incurred while prices were rising, and that the economic downturn is impacting your industry…But American families are struggling as well, dealing with job losses, falling home values, and a financial market that is erasing their retirement savings. It is crucial that you pass on the savings seen from falling fuel prices as quickly as possible…Now is not the time for Americans to be priced out of traveling – that is simply unfair to families who want to spend the holidays with their loved ones and it is bad for our economy in need of a boost.” (from the Lede – New York Times)

It’s not likely that a single letter from a U.S. senator will sway the airlines into action, but if others in government join the fight (and travelers turn to their cars over commercial airlines) maybe the airlines will start listening.