Southwest raises short-roundtrip fares by $10; others expected to match

The fare hike Friday applied to flights of less than 500 miles each way, or about one-third of Southwest’s routes.

“We never like to increase fares, but simply we needed to cover the cost of business,” said Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon.

During the second quarter, which ended June 30, Southwest’s operating expenses rose 6 percent from the same period last year. Fuel, labor and maintenance costs all increased.

The company covered higher expenses by boosting revenue nearly 12 percent, partly due to a 5 percent increase in the average fare, to $150 each way. Net income rose 42 percent, to $228 million.

Most U.S. airlines are profitable despite the sluggish economy and historically high fuel prices. They’ve been able to boost fares by holding down the number of flights and the supply of seats.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the two biggest carriers, confirmed that they matched the Southwest increase; American said Friday it had not. US Airways and JetBlue did not respond to requests for comment.

Sometimes airlines roll back price increases when competitors don’t match them. That happened this week to Delta, which tried to bump prices on three-day and seven-day advance-purchase tickets favored by business travelers.

U.S. airlines have attempted eight broad fare increases this year, and four have succeeded.

The Southwest increase may be durable. Other airlines fly more miles, but it carries the most domestic passengers, and has great influence on prices.

FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney said price increases supported by Southwest rarely collapse.

“The opposite is normally the case,” he said, “as many hikes fail due to (Southwest’s) lack of participation.”

Seaney said he expected other airlines to match Southwest’s latest increase.