Business Travel Tips

By taking advantage of the increase in business travel demand, it seems many airlines are planning to raise business-class fares.

So, as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased business-class fares - for United the biggest increase since 2000: by $50 each way on tickets purchased the same day of travel, other companies such as AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. are studying the increase.

Even Southwest Airlines Co., the biggest U.S. discount carrier, raised one-way fares by $10 earlier this month, its biggest ever increase according to JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker.
Business fares have risen 16 percent over the past year, on average, and are expected to increase for 2006, according to a Cathay Financial report.

For many carriers, after the losses in the recent years, partly because business fares declined, returning to profitability and facing higher jet-fuel prices - up 79 percent in the past two years, seem to be the main drivers for the fares increase. (Source)