why are plane tickets costing more lately

Airlines have used higher oil prices to justify fare increases of up to $60 per ticket since the start of the year. But the rising cost of fuel isn't the only reason why are plane tickets costing more lately.
The improving economy, a shrinking supply of seats and industry consolidation are also to blame.
"This is probably going to be the worst year we have seen in 10 years in terms of finding cheap tickets," says Tom Parsons of BestFares.com, a website for travel deals.
Airlines have the upper hand on prices for several reasons:
• The improving economy. Business travelers are expected to take 441 million trips this year, a 3 percent increase from 2010. As a result, airlines are reserving more seats for pricey last-minute bookings. That leaves fewer cheap fares for leisure travelers, who tend to book further in advance.
Fewer seats. During the recession, airlines reduced the number of routes and planes they fly. As travel demand picks up, this shrunken supply of seats allows the industry to charge more. Planes are 82 percent full on average, compared with 70 percent full before the recession hit in late 2007.
• Consolidation. Six airlines have combined into just three over the past 14 months — Delta and Northwest, Continental and United, Midwest and Frontier — leaving bargain-hunters with fewer choices.
American Airlines raised U.S. fares by $10 per round trip Wednesday but pulled back the increase Friday after other major airlines decided not to follow suit. It would have been the seventh broad price hike this year.
It isn't just the base fare getting more expensive. Checking bags, reserving an aisle seat and other services are no longer universally free.
Another change working against leisure travelers is the budding dispute between airlines and online travel sites. The airlines want to pay the sites lower commissions for each ticket purchased. The result for fliers: Not all available flights can be found on some sites. For instance, Orbitz, Expedia and Hotwire no longer list American Airlines flights.
Some high-traffic business and leisure routes, such as New York to Los Angeles, will see large hikes, Parsons says. The cheapest fare between those cities last July was $382. This year, it's $544. Parsons notes a handful of domestic routes, such as Dallas to San Francisco, are down thanks to new competition.

International routes aren't offering any relief, either. The cheapest plane tickets from Miami to Paris cost $1,250 this week, 53 percent higher than last year, according to SmarterTravel.
Vacationers looking for the cheapest tickets should aim to fly on Tuesday and Wednesday, the least busy days for the industry, Parsons says.
Booking hotel and air packages can also yield savings. Here's an extreme recent example found online: A trip to Las Vegas included two round-trip tickets on US Airways, three nights at the Excalibur hotel and two free show tickets, all for less than the cost of many round-trip fares to Las Vegas.

JetBlue cheap shuttle to Newark for Commuters

JetBlue Airways, Boston's largest carrier,begins four daily shuttle service between Boston's Logan International Airport and Newark's Liberty International Airport, complementing its existing schedule of frequent daily flights between Boston and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The new service will bring JetBlue's low-fare competition into a notoriously high-fare market. Since JetBlue announced plans to serve the Boston-Newark market, the lowest walk-up fare has dropped more than 75 percent.
"We're excited to dramatically lower prices on this route by bringing our industry-leading product to the market and providing the great JetBlue service and product our customers have come to expect of us," said Dave Clark, Director of Network Planning.

JetBlue's planned schedule between Boston Logan and Newark Liberty International:

BOS to EWR:
EWR to BOS:

Depart - Arrive
Depart - Arrive

6:15 a.m. - 7:31 a.m.
8:30 a.m. - 9:46 a.m.

9:50 a.m. -11:04 a.m.
11:50 a.m. - 12:56 p.m.

3:29 p.m. - 4:48 p.m.
5:30 p.m. - 6:48 p.m.

6:20 p.m. - 7:41 p.m.*
8:30 p.m. - 9:47 p.m.*

- Flights operate daily effective today-

*Frequency is not available Saturday
JetBlue's Boston to Newark flights will be operated with its quiet and fuel efficient 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft (E190); the only to offer in-flight entertainment with live DIRECTV® and XM Satellite Radio programming at every seat (b). The spacious E190 offers all-leather seating, industry-leading legroom, as well as unlimited free snacks and drinks served by JetBlue's friendly, award-winning crewmembers.

Though JetBlue declined to give pricing estimates for the New York Newark to Boston route, the airline did indicate its fare would be cheaper than the going rate. Its main competition along the New York City-to-Boston route is from the Delta Shuttle and US Airways Shuttle.

Commuters from Newark to Boston paid an average one-way fare of $311 during the first quarter of this year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data compiled by JetBlue. “ticket price is higher than the average fare paid by Boston travelers on any of the six coast-to-coast routes operated by JetBlue from Logan,” the company said in a statement.

Average ticket prices on all carriers from JFK to Boston during the same period were $106 one-way, and $177 one-way from La Guardia Airport.

JetBlue airways cheap fare on its JFK-to-Boston route range from $49 to $301 one-way, according to an airline spokesman. The airline did not provide an average fare, but pointed out that all of its flights include unlimited snacks and is the only carrier with free live television programming on the route.

southwest airlines fly to san juan Puerto Rico

Southwest Airlines will buy AirTran for $1.4 billion, creating the most expansive network of any low-cost carrier in the U.S. and giving the feisty airline a chance to grab business travelers in the nation's busiest markets.The deal would give Southwest its first flights outside the continental United States by continuing AirTran's service to Mexico and the Caribbean.
If the merger is approved by regulators, Southwest will for the first time go head to head with Delta on its home turf at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International, the busiest passenger airport in the world. It will gain access to Reagan Washington National Airport and capture increased share at Boston Logan and New York LaGuardia.

The deal to purchase AirTran will give Southwest a footprint in virtually every large and midsize U.S. city.In addition to gains at major portals such as LaGuardia and Reagan National, Southwest would pick up AirTran's service at Charlotte and Memphis and its large operation in Atlanta.

Among the other 38 airports that AirTran serves but Southwest currently does not: Miami, Des Moines, Wichita and outside the U.S. in Cancun, Mexico; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Aruba.

"America needs this now," says Tom Parsons of BestFares.com. "With this deal you can now go just about anywhere in the country, and to the Caribbean and Mexico, on Southwest. ... All the legacy airlines will have to set their prices based on whatever Southwest does."
Some travelers were pleased with the prospect of a broader route system that gives them more appealing destinations when they redeem their loyalty program points, as well as the chance that Southwest's entry into new markets could drive down ticket prices at other airlines as well.
AirTran's planes will also become a single coach class, like Southwest, and be painted in Southwest's colors.