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Air fares climb, then descend
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September 8, 1997: 12:34 p.m. ET
Many airlines back down from fare increases implemented over weekend
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Most major U.S. airlines quietly hiked fares by 5 percent during the past weekend, but some backed down from the increases Monday.
Northwest Airlines began the trend Friday, raising most fares by about 5 percent. Others, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Trans World Airlines and American Airlines followed suit. Only Southwest Airlines resisted the move.
By Monday morning, however, TWA, US Airways and American said they would return to the ticket price levels that existed before the increase.
Other airlines, including United and Delta, stuck with the increase, although Delta hinted it left open the option of switching back.
"We are going to be monitoring the competitive situation," said Delta spokeswoman Jackie Pate.
Legislative changes may have been behind the hikes. "The industry is going to be faced with an increase in the ticket tax on Oct. 1, and I think this is a way of getting some of that back," said airlines analyst Helene Becker of Smith Barney.
The ticket tax was reinstated to provide funds to upgrade security at the nation's airports and fund other airport improvements.
A strong economy has increased air traffic in the United States this year. Northwest and United reported their revenue passenger miles, the industry's main measure of traffic, are up more than 3 percent each from the same period last year.
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