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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
16 July, 2005: Delta Airlines, the third largest airline in the US, has pushed up some of its SimpliFares cap for full fare walk-up tickets by $100. The economy class walk-up ticket price has gone up to $599 and the first class tickets to $699.
Delta Airlines attributed the price hike to the "dramatic" increase in crude oil prices, which have gone up to as much as $61 now, from the $43/barrel in August 2004 when Simplifares were announced across US.
Other American carriers like United Airlines and Continental Airlines quickly matched the higher Delta fares, increasing fares across the board. Some like American Airlines are still watching the situation.
The ticket price hike will help Delta turn in an additional $80 million in revenues. However, this fare hike may not be enough to save Delta Airlines from impending bankruptcy. The company needs favourable legislation and more revenue inflows to keep itself flying.
Delta Airlines said in a press release: "Despite our best intentions to keep the current fare caps in place, we have been forced to find ways to offset this dramatic spike in costs."
Delta Airlines' SimpliFares program had created waves in the American aviation scene when it was introduced, with many carriers following suit. Now, with Delta pushing up the air fares, others have followed too.
Delta claimed that despite the hike, the SimpliFares program retains the popular features of no Saturday-night stays and flexible change rules. The cap hike, the airline said, affects only full-fare walk-up and some 3-day advance purchase fares.
According to Delta, the SimpliFares ceilings apply only to a small percentage of SimpliFares, and the majority of SimpliFares are quite lower.
Citing an example, Delta said it currently has a daily low fare of $69 each way from Atlanta to Washington, DC and a daily low fare of $99 each way from Fort Lauderdale, Fla to Greensboro, N.C. These are everyday fares, not sale fares.
The SimpliFares program was opened in Cincinnati, Delta's second largest hub in August 2004. Laer, Delta expanded the program across its domestic system in January 2005.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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