American Airlines hike fares by $20

The surge in oil prices is translating into even higher costs for air travelers as well as drivers.

Some of the nation's biggest airlines raised most domestic fares by an additional $20 roundtrip over the weekend, adding to the strain on consumers now paying an average of more than $4 a gallon for regular gas.

The increases follow a dramatic two-day run-up in oil prices late last week that left the cost of crude more than 13 percent higher in just two days. Prices eased Monday but remained above $135 a barrel.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines launched the latest round of fare increases, and was quickly matched by some of its closest competitors, including UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc., representatives for the carriers said Monday.

The increase marks the struggling airline industry's seventeenth attempt to raise fares or fuel surcharges this year, according to airfare research site FareCompare.com. At least a dozen of those increases remain in place across much of the carriers' route networks.

"As the constant drumbeat of airfare hikes continues in the coming weeks and months, travelers should pay heed and lock in their airline tickets as quickly as possible," Rick Seaney, FareCompare's chief executive, said in an e-mail.

Continental Airlines was among the carriers that matched the increase over the weekend, but it rolled the higher prices back Monday, FareCompare said, raising the possibility that other airlines might undo their hikes as well.