Two low-cost carriers raise ticket prices

AirTran Airlines raised its prices as much as $40 per roundtrip on some walk-up and first-class fares. Most seven- to 14-day-advance-purchase tickets increased about $10 per roundtrip, while airfares requiring a three-day advance purchase increased by up to $20 per roundtrip.

"Some markets have seen an increase of 10 percent, while others are averaging around 5 percent," Tom Parsons, editor of Bestfares.com, said Sunday. Parsons tracks airline fares and acts as a travel agent through his Internet company.

Most major airlines quickly matched the increase on routes where they compete with AirTran, he said.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines also slightly raised air fares. Many routes increased by $1 each way and others increased by $3 each way.

"The good news for the traveling public is that when Southwest has a fare increase, it is a minor irritation," Parsons said.

Southwest spokeswoman Linda Rutherford said the fare increase will not be on every flight, but price hikes will be for both advance purchase and walk-up fares. Southwest, the nation's fourth-largest carrier in terms of customer boardings, serves more than 50 cities in 28 states and is expanding its service into the eastern United States.

A telephone message left with AirTran in Orlando, Fla., was not immediately returned. AirTran, formerly known as ValuJet, flies to 31 cities in the eastern and midwestern United States, including Chicago, Houston, Newark, N.J., and Washington, D.C.

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