Airlines raise fares
According to fare trackers, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines are leading a round of price increases that will boost the base fare on many medium-length and long flights by $10 per round trip.
United, Delta, American and US Airways said Thursday that they had matched the increases.
J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, who tracks fares, said United and US Airways expanded the price increases to routes that Southwest doesn't fly and included Denver, where Southwest had not raised prices. Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, said at midday Thursday that all the largest U.S. airlines had raised fares.
Baker and Seaney said JetBlue took price increases that other airlines limited to a few markets such as Florida and expanded them nationwide last week. Southwest jumped in on Wednesday, they said.
JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Croyle said the airline raised prices by $5 each way on some Florida and West Coast routes last week and expanded the increase to other routes Sunday. Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said her airline raised prices to match JetBlue and "cover operating costs including the high price of jet fuel.''
Jet fuel accounts for about one-third of an airline's costs _ about the same as labor _ and the bill has been rising along with crude oil prices. This week, the spot price for Gulf Coast jet fuel was 12.1 percent higher than a year ago and up 8.5 percent so far in 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That could mean more fare hikes ahead.
"It is pretty clear airlines will
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