Airfares May Be Inching Way Skyward

Northwest Airlines Corp. complained the loudest when Delta Air Lines Inc. capped many of its one-way fares at $499 in January. And on Friday, Northwest was the one to try to push those fares higher, tacking $50 each way onto fares aimed at business travelers.

If it sticks, it would be the largest of several fare hikes this year. Pushed by high fuel costs, airlines have been trying to raise prices this year. Some of the increases became permanent. Others fizzled because too few airlines matched them.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Department said Friday that it reexamined a law passed by Congress in 2001 and ruled that U.S. airlines now may double to $100 the round-trip fee they charge passengers holding tickets for failed rivals’ flights.

Rebooking costs are higher than previously thought, the department said. The law -- which requires carriers to seat, on a standby basis, round-trip passengers who hold tickets on airlines that suddenly go out of business -- was interpreted in a way that limited the fee charged to no more than $50.

As many as 1 million passengers hold advance tickets for an airline at any one time, so the fee change would increase a carrier’s revenue by millions of dollars if a rival liquidates, said Terry Trippler, who monitors fares for CheapSeats.com.

As for the Northwest move, Continental Airlines Inc. said Friday that it would match it, and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines did too, according to Trippler. AMR Corp.’s American Airlines did not match the $50 increase, but spokesman Tim Smith said the carrier was studying it. Trippler said US Airways did not match the increase.

Delta also did not match Northwest’s $50 increase, spokesman Anthony Black said.

However, in comments to analysts Wednesday, Delta Chief Financial Officer Michael Palumbo said the airline would consider increasing its “SimpliFares” cap.

“We can never say never,” he said. But Palumbo added that it was crucial that Delta “not irresponsibly break the covenant that we’re trying to create with the traveling public” by promising to cap fares.

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Associated Press and Bloomberg News were used in compiling this report.