WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 1999 -- Major airlines have quietly raised their leisure fares by $10 for one-way trips of more than 500 miles, $5 for shorter trips. Southwest Airlines was the only holdout.
Even travelers who don?t fly Southwest benefit from its refusal to hike fares, since its competitors retained their lower fares on routes served by Southwest.
The airlines had tried to raise business fares as well but lost their nerve and rescinded the increases after a few days.
Actually, the increases may not have too much effect on many leisure travelers, since ?sale? fares are often so deeply discounted that the base fare is of little consequence.
Airlines are under pressure to boost profits, which have been hurt by higher fuel prices and slightly reduced growth rates.
