Delta Air Lines today said it raised first class and full coach fares in certain markets by $50, prompting Northwest Airlines to match and Continental Airlines to do so on competitive routes, as other carriers weigh the possibility of a high-end fare hike. A Delta spokesperson said the carrier could not disclose which markets the increase affects.
Northwest today also said it matched a move by Delta last week to pass facility charges onto passengers on applicable domestic itineraries. The carriers in the past had absorbed the fees, which are imposed by local airports and authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration
(BTNonline, March 31).
AMR executive vice president of finance and planning and CFO Tom Horton said American Airlines could not comment on whether it would match, but noted, "The airline industry is still losing money. Fares have not risen enough to offset the costs of fuel increases."
United Airlines last week attempted to push through a similar increase and was matched by Delta and others, but that move ultimately fell apart.
"That particular fare increase fell apart," Continental president Jeff Smisek noted yesterday at the Corporate Travel World conference in New York. Smisek said such increases were largely driven by larger fuel costs. "I guess the capacity element helps us to price towards fuel—not price to fuel. We haven't been able to do that yet because we keep chasing it and it keeps going up. We're clearly getting closer than we were before," Smisek said.