Updated at 4:59 p.m., Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Japan Airlines may hike international fares by 7%
By Tomomi Sekioka
Bloomberg News
Japan Airlines will increase the domestic fares during the period of April 1 to Sept. 30 next year, it said in a statement today. It has applied to raise international fares by as much as 7 percent.
The airline said it expects high fuel prices to continue into the future. The increase is the third time the carrier has raised domestic fares since January 2005.
Japan Airlines expects its fuel costs to rise 11 percent to 420 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in the year ending March 2007, it said last month. Jet fuel closed at $76.15 a barrel on Dec. 22 in Singapore, according to Bloomberg data. The price has fallen 18 percent from a record high of $93 a barrel on Aug. 8.
