Packed Airplanes Replace Bargains

The good news for airlines - higher fares and packed airplanes - stands to turn into a summer headache for travelers.

Airlines are making money again and they’re doing it largely by holding back the cheap seats, industry analysts say.

Flying with record low numbers of empty seats, major carriers are exploiting the profitable opportunity by offering fewer cheap seats and designating more space for higher-fare paying business travelers.

The cheapest tickets have gotten 13 percent more expensive since April, preliminary figures from American Express’ June air fare survey show.

The sharp increase is too high to be the result of normal seasonal increases in vacation fares and signals a tighter supply of discounted tickets, said Bob Harrell, head of American Express’ air fare management unit.

“They’re not giving away as many cheap seats too soon,” said Steve Lewins, airline analyst at Gruntal & Co., a Wall Street investment firm.