Carriers hope to pass their soaring fuel costs on to travelers through fare hikes and surcharges. Fuel surcharges and fares increases tend to last only if they are matched by rival carriers.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - UAL Corp <UAUA.O>, parent of United Airlines, said on Friday it has increased its domestic fuel surcharge by an additional $3 to $5 each way.
Carriers hope to pass their soaring fuel costs on to travelers through fare hikes and surcharges. Fuel surcharges and fares increases tend to last only if they are matched by rival carriers.
The airline industry has been battered in recent years by low-fare competition, which makes it harder to raise fares, but despite signs of economic weakness, airlines have been fairly successful raising ticket prices.
The cost of crude oil <CLc1>, which is directly related to the price of jet fuel, notched a new record above $106 a barrel on Friday.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Shares of UAL were down 2 percent at $27.73 in morning trade on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Kyle Peterson, editing by Phil Berlowitz)
