Airfare Hike

Delta Air Lines leads latest airfare hike attempt

Delta Air Lines is leading the latest stab at boosting round-trip domestic fares from $10 to $20, FareCompare.com spokesperson Katrina Witherspoon said in an e-mail. “Typically, airfare purchased inside of a 7-day window to departure is purchased only by business travelers and not usually leisure flyers,” she wrote.
Three previous attempts to raise airfares this year have been successful. Witherspoon said the outcome of this attempt will be known by Thursday.
The most recent increase happened in March when legacy and low-cost carriers agreed to an increase of up to $10 on roundtrip flights.
In a March 27 e-mail, Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, said prices jumped twice during the second quarter of 2011, adding, “I expect to see something similar this year as we head into the historically busy summer travel season which is likely to be much busier this year.”