Ticket prices soar at American Airlines

American Airlines is leading the way when it comes to the increase in the cost of both domestic and international airfare among the largest carriers in the

United States. The price of all round-trip domestic flights operated by American rose by $20, encouraging rival airlines to follow suit. According to American’s officials, the airline had no choice but to raise the cost of tickets due to the rapidly rising price of fuel and crude oil on the world market. Almost immediately after American announced its increased fares, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines both followed the former’s lead and augmented the price of each ticket. The increased prices could be tracked by FareCompare.com, an air travel comparator site and Associated Press (AP) was quick to report on the change.

Perhaps most worryingly for frequent flyers, this newest hike in fares is hardly the first this year. According to Rick Seaney, FareCompare.com’s CEO, the current rise in prices at American Airlines is the seventh over the course of the past two months. Like the airlines themselves, Seaney also attributes these frequent hikes to the consistently rising cost of fuel.

Although air fares do seem to be increasing across the board, when it comes to

US domestic travel, some carriers have implemented much more minor hikes. For example, Continental augmented its prices a week ago, but only by about half as much as today’s hike by American Airlines. It is, however, likely that Continental will also follow its major competitor’s lead and implement yet another raise within the next few days.

Over all, the rising price of fuel used by aircraft has increased the overhead costs of airlines by about 5.6%, during the second half of this year. The price of crude oil has skyrocketed by nearly 25% since the beginning of September.

www.aa.com