According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, due to an increase in demand, the average domestic airline fare increased from $367.17 in the fourth quarter of 2005 to $381.99 in the first quarter of 2006, an increase of $14.82. The number of passenger tickets sold in the fourth quarter of 2005 was 178.1 million. Over the same period, the airlines’ costs remained roughly the same: the price of jet fuel averaged around $1.85 per gallon in both quarters (Source: Energy Information Administration), and airline pilots’ salaries remained roughly the same (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they averaged $135,040 per year in 2005).

Can you determine precisely by how much producer surplus has increased as a result of the $14.82 increase in the average fare? If you cannot be precise, can you determine whether it will be less than, or more than, a specific amount?