That means higher airfares all around, and the higher airfares are likely to stay. With the US economy weakening and oil prices in dollars at a record high, airlines are feeling squeezed, and passing the squeeze along to their customers.
But you can still find lower-than-usual fares all over the country, even in markets where the dominant airline has seriously bumped up prices. Low-fare airlines like Southwest and AirTran, in general, haven't respected the fare increase. And if you don't live in a place with a low-fare airline, nowadays you can usually drive to a place with one.
You might find flying slower and more complicated, though. As we searched these ten routes, we found that the lowest fares usually required a change of plane. It's up to you whether that's worth it.
Courtesy of United Airlines and FareCompare.com, here are ten routes where the dominant carrier raised rates this week, and what you can do about it:
1. Boston-Denver. Because Denver is such a dominant hub for United, pretty much every route out of Denver is feeling the pinch this week. According to FareCompare, "dozens" of Denver markets all got socked with the increase, even on routes where United competes with Southwest. That's a hint as to your alternative. Southwest flies into Providence, RI and Manchester, NH, both near Boston. From both airports, they fly to Denver for as little as $93 each way.
2. Boston-Los Angeles. Another United market that's seen a $50 jump. But there are so many alternatives in the LA area that you shouldn't worry. From Boston, look at Providence and Manchester as we recounted above. Into Los Angeles, you want to check out Long Beach, Burbank and Orange County as well as LAX. That puts Southwest and JetBlue into play.
3. Cincinnati-Detroit. Delta has been inching this fare up for weeks, FareCompare says. Both Cincinnati and Detroit have alternate airports served by low-fare airlines, as AirTran does good business out of Dayton (for Cinci) and Flint (for Detroit.) They're worth checking in other circumstances. But with nobody else really covering the route, if you want to save money, you'll have to drive or take the bus.
4. Cleveland-Houston. A link between two Continental hubs means high fares, and the fares are heading up. You might want to try AirTran out of Akron instead, where fares are as little as $109 each way.
5. Dallas-Raleigh. American Airlines just bumped this route up by $30, according to FareCompare. But with enough advance purchase, this is still an extremely competitive route, with fares as low as $99 each way on both Southwest and AirTran.
6. Los Angeles-Newark. Continental has hiked the fare up into its Newark hub. But if you aren't married to Continental, Los Angeles to New York is still one of the most competitive routes in the country. US Airways via Phoenix and Delta direct into JFK are both charging considerably less than American on this route, with fares as low as $262 round-trip.
7. Orlando-San Francisco. United specified this route as one they've raised fares on. But with AirTran and Spirit both providing low-fare service and Southwest doing plenty of business into nearby Oakland at $139 each way, there's no reason to worry yet.
8. San Francisco-Philadelphia. San Francisco is a United hub, and Philadelphia has traditionally high fares. That is, unless you fly on Southwest from Oakland for as little as $131 each way.
9. Toronto-New York. Air Canada has bumped up many of their fares this week, too, including on the extremely popular Toronto to New York route. No, you don't have to drive to Buffalo to get to New York, though that will still save you money over any Canadian airport because of the inexcusable cross-border taxes.
Starting March 31, though, Porter Airlines is flying from the Toronto Island Airport to Newark Airport seven times a day. Where Air Canada's lowest fare is $139 each way, Porter's is $95. And where Air Canada adds $107 in taxes and fees to their fare, Porter adds $97. That makes Porter the best bet at the moment for trips between Toronto and the Big Apple.
10. Washington Dulles-Denver.
Look, it's two United hubs, so United (and Frontier, who also have a hub at Denver) jacked up fares recently. But AirTran is keeping fares real at $134 each way, albeit with a brief stop in Atlanta. Even more diverse savings can be found by driving to BWI airport, where, because of Southwest fares in general can be half as much as Dulles.Talk with other Frommers.com readers on our Air Travel Message Boards.
