UAL Corp.'s United Airlines on Monday joined the five largest U.S. carriers in raising round-trip fares $10 in response to higher fuel costs.
Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. adopted the increase this past weekend after it was initiated by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the world's largest carrier.
The increase marks at least the seventh time this year that so-called legacy airlines such as American have boosted ticket prices. Southwest Airlines Co., the largest low-fare carrier, has led another five increases as carriers battle rising fuel prices. Jet fuel for immediate delivery in New York harbor has climbed 36 percent from the end of 2006.
"Discounter-led increases are more relevant, given they affect the lower end of the fare spectrum, where greater passenger volumes occur," Jamie Baker, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst based in New York, said in a report Monday.
Labor and fuel are airlines' largest costs. A 1 cent-a-gallon increase in the price of jet fuel adds $30 million to annual expenses at Fort Worth, Texas-based American.
The latest ticket-price increase is in the continental U.S., includes leisure and business fares and excludes markets where the airlines compete directly with discount carriers such as Dallas-based Southwest.