Airlines: trend is fewer empty seats, higher fares

Posted 21/09/2011

Cheap air fares? Not expected. Empty airplane middle seats? If not an endangered species yet, don’t expect that either.

And, oh yes, higher ticket prices.

In a nutshell, that’s the immediate outlook for air travel: Carriers are cutting back. Two reasons: high fuel prices and the uncertain economy.

Delta, American, United and Continental all announced flight reductions of up to 5 per cent.

Even Southwest Airlines said it will hold off on expanding its fleet because of the weak economy. It bought AirTran earlier this year, which expanded Southwest’s size by one-fourth.

“Planes have never been so full. There was barely a spare seat this summer, and the next few months should be the same,” according to the AP.

"There are some days on some flights when there are simply no physical seats left," said Jim Reichart, vice president of marketing and sales for Frontier, which sold 91 percent of its seats in July and August.

Delta, for example, is cutting back as a way of “being cautious about fuel prices,” said spokesman Eric Torbenson.

"Strong passenger demand seems to be defying the daily economic headlines," said Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com. "Couple that with fewer seats for the rest of the year and you have a recipe for higher ticket prices."

“Airlines (recently) have increased fares for the 10th time this year, zeroing in on pricey, last-minute tickets bought most often by corporate travelers,” said USA Today.

Airline fares increased 1.1 percent in August, the biggest jump since March, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the past 12 months, fares rose 9.5 percent over the same period last year.

By David Wilkening

Originally published 21 Sep 2011 at: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/398/f/5923/s/18a1ffb6/l/0L0Stravelmole0N0Cstories0C11494360Bphp0Dmpnlog0F1/story01.htm