Friday, May 09, 2008; Posted: 09:17 AM
The latest fare increase began with Delta Air Lines, which added $20 to its fuel surcharge on many of its flights Wednesday evening, according to FareCompare.com, a Dallas firm that monitors airline fares. By Thursday morning, American, which is based in Fort Worth, began to match the price on many of its flights, said Rick Seaney, the firm's chief executive.
United Airlines also began raising prices Thursday afternoon, Seaney said, leaving Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and U.S. Airways on the sidelines.
The airlines are desperate to increase prices to offset the fast-rising cost of jet fuel.
"Leisure and business travelers on noncompetitive routes, especially on routes over 1,500 miles, are paying $280 or more round trip since December 20, 2007," said Tom Parsons, chief executive of Bestfares.com, an Arlington travel company that scrutinizes ticket prices.
But he added that discount airlines such as Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, and AirTran Airways still have cheap prices available on many routes.
"We still see low-cost airlines, such as Southwest, offering bargain-basement air fares as low as $58 round trip between routes such as Chicago and Indianapolis, Dallas and Tulsa, Houston and San Antonio," he said.
Jet fuel was recently priced at $3.57 per gallon, up 76 percent from a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Of the airlines' attempts to raise fares this year, 10 have been successful, not counting the current attempt by Delta. Four other attempts to raise prices crumbled when some competitors didn't go along.
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