SALON

Friday, Aug 17, 2012 9:45 PM UTC

Southwest adds $5 each way to fare for short trips

By

Topics: From the Wires,

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. is raising fares on short routes by $10 per round trip, and other airlines are expected to match the increase.

The fare hike Friday applied to flights of less than 500 miles each way, or about one-third of Southwest’s routes.

“We never like to increase fares, but simply we needed to cover the cost of business,” said Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon.

During the second quarter, which ended June 30, Southwest’s operating expenses rose 6 percent compared with the same period last year. Fuel, labor and maintenance costs all increased.

The company covered the higher expenses by boosting revenue nearly 12 percent, partly due to a 5 percent increase in the average fare, to $150 each way. Net income rose 42 percent, to $228 million.

Most U.S. airlines have continued making profits in 2012 despite the sluggish economy and historically high prices for jet fuel. They’ve been able to boost fares by holding down the number of flights and the supply of seats.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the two biggest carriers, confirmed that they matched the Southwest increase. American said Friday afternoon that it had not raised prices. US Airways and JetBlue did not immediately return messages for comment.

Sometimes airlines roll back price increases when competitors don’t match them. That happened this week to Delta, which tried to raise prices on 3-day and 7-day advance-purchase tickets favored by business travelers.

The Southwest increase might prove more durable. Other airlines fly more miles, but Southwest carries more passengers within the U.S. than anyone, and it has great influence over prices.

Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, said price increases supported by Southwest rarely collapse. “The opposite is normally the case,” he said, “as many hikes fail due to (Southwest’s) lack of participation.”

Seaney said he expected other airlines to match Southwest’s latest increase.

U.S. airlines have attempted eight broad fare increases this year, and four have succeeded.

More By David Koenig.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations