Southwest Airlines Co. raised fares Friday on short routes by $10 per round trip, and several large airlines quickly matched the increase.
The fare hike applied to flights of less than 500 miles each way, or about one-third of Southwest’s routes.
“We never like to increase fares, but simply we needed to cover the cost of business,” said Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon.
During the second quarter, which ended June 30, Southwest’s operating expenses rose 6 percent compared with the same period last year.
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