A bigger factor affecting fares, analysts say, is whether competitors like Southwest, JetBlue or AirTran serve a particular route.
And as airlines continue to find customers for their most expensive fares, analysts said, they are reducing the number of their cheapest seats -- and even those are not so cheap anymore.
And even though it sometimes feel as if Web sites are baiting customers with cheap flights, only to switch them to higher fares, analysts said online travel companies are careful not to run afoul of the law in this regard.
Much of the burden will fall on business travelers because they depend more on travel agents than leisure travelers, who tend to book flights in advance and shop for low fares, analysts said.
Most of the major domestic carriers either have or are in the process of running an e-mail fare program, analysts said.
[C2.] Modest Growth Prevails on the Web In contrast to Web merchants that started out trading growth for profitability, those that set more modest growth goals in the first place -- and had other things going for them, like products that people actually wanted to buy -- have generally fared better, analysts say.
The ABC studio program was basic fare, but the analyst Giorgio Chinaglia, the former New York Cosmos and Lazio star, stood out.
"I think the network schedules for next season are loaded with escapist fare," Mr. Sternberg, the analyst, said, citing new series like "Undercovers" on NBC, about a married couple of super-spies.
AIRLINES RETREAT ON FARE INCREASES -- Analysts say the domestic airline business cannot make money with oil priced at more than $40 a barrel, but the travel market keeps telling major airlines that passengers are not willing to chip in for gas no matter how high oil goes.
But with business travel demand already down, the route cuts and aircraft retirements are not expected to have any major impact on customers, who have been finding planes less crowded -- and upgrades to first-class cabins more available -- this summer, even as travelers enjoy fare cuts that analysts anticipate will last well into the fall.
