Airlines: costs going up, but more legroom is for sale
Southwest Airlines raised fares in the single largest boost in its history and Northwest started selling more leg room for an added $15 charge.
Southwest hiked its highest fares by $10 each way, apparently ending its self-imposed, one-way fare cap of $299. The lowest rates are now apparently $309 each way.
“For us, it’s all about fuel, fuel and fuel,” Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart told The Dallas Morning News.
The new rates range from $2 each way for flights under 400 miles to $4 each way for longer routes.
Other airlines doing similar routes also started raising their fares.
In an unrelated development, Northwest is now offering 10 to 13 more inches of legroom on most domestic flights. The premium seats are exit-row or aisle seats near the front of the cabin.
There were no estimates available of how much income the $15 might add to Northwest now operating under Chapter 11, but some commentators joked that pay toilets were next in the airlines unrelenting efforts to return to profitability.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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