American, Others Drop Fare Increase

Major U.S. airlines led by American Airlines dropped a $20 round-trip increase on some leisure fares after Northwest Airlines Corp. balked at another attempt to boost revenue and stem losses, a fare analyst said.

AMR Corp.’s American confirmed rescinding the increase that it began Wednesday. Northwest said it didn’t match the higher prices and declined to comment further.

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. also dropped the increase, said Tom Parsons, chief executive of fare monitor Bestfares.com.