U.S. Airline Fare Hikes Have Been More Successful in 2016

U.S. airlines have matched a $3 hike on domestic fares that JetBlue began earlier this week, according to a research note by J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. JetBlue initiated the hike on all domestic fares besides its premium Mint seats, and Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines all matched the increase in markets where they compete with JetBlue. Southwest Airlines followed suit the next day, affecting nearly a third of its domestic fares, according to Baker. "While this latest initiative has not expanded outside of JetBlue markets, we still consider it material, ranking as the sixth domestic fare effort out of 12 broad-based attempts," he wrote. That's a 50 percent success rate in 2016, compared with 18 percent from 2013 to 2015, he noted.