Average domestic airfares rose 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, the government said Wednesday in an analysis that was based on a small sample of itineraries and excluded some high-priced destinations.
The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said its first-quarter numbers represented the largest year-to-year increase in average domestic airfares since the second quarter of 2006. Even so, it said, average fares through the first quarter remained 4.6 percent below the January-to-March high set in 2001.
It said the average domestic itinerary fare in the first quarter of this year was $332.
Among the 100 largest U.S. airports, Boston saw the largest year-to-year average fare increase by percentage in the first quarter, while Atlantic City, N.J., saw the biggest average fare decrease by percentage, the government said. Cincinnati's airport had the highest average fares in the quarter, the government said.
The period examined ran from January through March of this year. Average air fares have continued to increase in the months since then as the price of a barrel of oil soared to nearly $150 before falling significantly in recent days. Rick Seaney of fare research site FareCompare.com said last week that fares across the country had risen 20 percent since the beginning of the year.
The government average fare numbers were calculated based on a 10 percent sample of itineraries flown. Travel to and from airports in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico was excluded. Its calculations also did not include frequent-flyer or "zero fares" or a few abnormally high reported fares.
The government said a separate measure of fares, the BTS Air Travel Price Index, was up 6 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008. The ATPI is a statistical index that measures changes in airline ticket prices used on identical routings and identical classes of service on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
While the ATPI measures changes in fares, average fares measure the actual amount paid by passengers, including taxes and fees, the government said. Average fares do not necessarily account for the level of service, as ATPI does.
Airlines have been raising fares, adding new fees, cutting domestic capacity and shedding jobs to try to offset the steep rise in fuel prices. Several major carriers still reported large losses for the quarter ended June 30.
Experts believe fares will continue to increase in the months ahead, and some airline executives have hinted at the possibility.
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