As the school year ends and summer vacations begin, many travelers are reporting sticker shock when making plans to visit grandma or take in the sights. Fuel is part of it, but I think it's mostly because demand is up,'' said Joe Galloway, owner of Transcontinental Travel in Houston. According to the Air Transport Association, the trade group representing major U.S. carriers, the average per-mile fare paid by travelers rose 2.5 percent from January to June.
Planes are more crowded despite the higher prices.
Domestic passenger traffic rose 7.7 percent over last May, the trade group said. While average fares for business and leisure travelers are rising, there are still bargains. It's not unusual for airlines to raise base fares and then engage in price wars on some competitive routes. The fares passengers pay are up only modestly,'' said Samuel Buttrick, an analyst with PaineWebber. Aviation consultant Bob Harrell tracks the lowest-priced leisure fares on 20 major routes.