US airfares not rising everywhere

Air fares have increased on many routes in the U.S., with 22 fare increases seen during this past year. Not all fares have been rising, however, and in some cities remain unchanged or have actually decreased, as stiffer competition keeps carriers from charging higher prices.

In early September, business airfares dropped by five percent in Phoenix and four percent in New York, as compared with the same period in 2007, according to research published by Harrell Associates, an airfare tracking group. Other cities saw marginal airfare increases, such as a one percent increase in Orlando, three percent in Atlanta, and four percent in both Denver and Las Vegas.

Overall, however, fares have increased – by 11 percent in the leisure air travel market and six percent in the business sector, according to the Harrell numbers. Many cities have seen greater price rises, such as Philadelphia where the increase was 26 percent, Minneapolis at 17, Newark at 15, and 12 percent for Dallas.

Denver saw smaller increases, averaging four percent over the last year. The reason for the more modest increase is the added capacity introduced by Southwest Airlines. By November 2, Southwest will operate 115 flights out of Denver daily, which is nine times the number in mid-2007.

TheTravel Trendwatch newsletter issued by Expedia cites low-fare competition as being the reason for the 32 percent airfare price decline on the Denver-San Francisco route and the 30 percent decrease on Denver-San Diego.

www.expedia.com