Major airlines in U.S. raise fares

DALLAS - If you're buying an airline ticket soon, get ready to pay a few bucks more. According to fare trackers, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines are leading a round of price increases that will boost the base fare on many medium-length and long flights by $10 per round trip. United, Delta, American and US Airways said Thursday that they had matched the increases. J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, who tracks fares, said United and US Airways expanded the price increases to routes that Southwest doesn't fly and included Denver, where Southwest had not raised prices. Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, said at midday Thursday that all the largest U.S. airlines had raised fares. Baker and Seaney said JetBlue took price increases that other airlines limited to a few markets such as Florida and expanded them nationwide last week. Southwest jumped in Wednesday, they said. Read more