American Airlines and JetBlue Airways Corp raised ticket prices in various markets late on Thursday, seeking to recoup some of their increased costs from record fuel prices, the airlines said.
No 1 US airline American, owned by AMR Corp, hiked fares on a range of domestic routes, with increases mostly ranging from $5 to $10 each way, spokesman Tim Smith said on Friday.
Discount carrier JetBlue raised fares by $5 on flights to and from Florida and on some transcontinental flights, spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said.
The fare hikes follow similar moves by rivals including Delta Air Lines Inc, UAL Corp's United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc.
The higher ticket prices did little to help the beleaguered industry's shares, as oil prices raced to record highs above $66 a barrel on Friday. Fuel has overtaken labour as the highest cost for many of the airlines, and analysts say some carriers could be driven into bankruptcy.
Delta shares were down 8 cents, or 4.5 percent, at $1.71, Continental was down 31 cents, or 2.1 percent, at $14.30, and AMR was down 18 cents, or 1.3 percent, at $13.22, all on the New York Stock Exchange. On Nasdaq, JetBlue was off 4 cents to $18.98.
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