BL/United Raises Fee to Change Tickets, Requires Stay (Update1)
By Nancy Kercheval
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- UAL Corp.'s United Airlines raised by 50 percent the charge to change tickets and implemented a Saturday night stay requirement for other travelers.
The fee to change a ticket is now $150, said spokeswoman Robin Urbanski in an e-mail. The Saturday-night stay requirement on tickets where United competes with other carriers will affect about 65 percent of markets the airline serves.
``We are facing a cost increase of more than $2 billion this year and that is more than twice the operating earnings we generated last year,'' Urbanski said. ``Making these changes is another example of how we need to continue to adapt to today's tough market realities and find new ways to generate revenue.''
Jet fuel prices have increased more than 69 percent in the past year, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Last week, United boosted its fuel surcharge by $20 round trip in markets that already had a fuel fee. A $10 surcharge was added in markets where no fee had been in effect.
United rose 45 cents, or 2 percent, to $22.85 on April 18 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have fallen 36 percent this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 20, 2008 12:35 EDT
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