(FORTUNE Magazine) – Do the recent air fare hikes really mean all that much? Industry security analysts say they are nonplused by the blaring headlines that followed the wide cancellation of discounts in November. ''It ain't front-page news,'' says Kevin Murphy, who covers airlines for Morgan Stanley. ''It's happened before.'' Indeed it has, on an almost seasonal basis, in the ten years since deregulation began. In the fall of 1986, for example, American Airlines led the way and many others followed suit. The next January, Continental Airlines reintroduced discounts -- and others quickly did the same. Now, led by Continental, the industry is imposing another round of increases that probably will last through the holidays and into 1989, only to soften. Business travelers spend about $35 billion a year on domestic flights, 20% on trips arranged within seven days of takeoff time. Such trips have been hit hardest by the price increase, which will raise these fares by about 30%. Even so, air travel remains a better bargain than before deregulation: Prices have risen at half the rate of the consumer price index. Fine-tuning to try to maximize profits, the airlines make fare changes by the millions without great effect on prices (see table). The heads of many corporate travel departments believe fares might drop again in the new year -- marginally if the economy is strong, dramatically if it is weak. Business travelers can't do much to fight price increases, but even before the recent round, some were trying. Du Pont, which spends about $100 million a year on domestic air fares, is increasing the number of video conferences among staffers who used to fly to meet with one another. In 30 months this has saved Du Pont $5 million in travel expenses.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: MICHAEL BARTALOS SOURCE: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOC.; AIRLINE TARIFF PUBLISHING CAPTION: TURBULENT TIMES FOR AIR FARES