American Airlines raises fuel fee by $20

American Airlines raised its fuel surcharge by $20 round trip after a fare increase of the same amount failed earlier this week.
The surcharge applies to most routes in the United States where American doesn't compete with discount carriers, Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the AMR Corp. unit, said yesterday.
U.S. airlines are cutting capacity, parking planes and eliminating jobs as they struggle to cope with a 97 percent increase in jet-fuel prices during the past year.
Fuel has surpassed labor as the biggest cost for most carriers and may contribute to a $7.2 billion industrywide loss this year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Jamie Baker has estimated.
Delta Air Lines Inc. didn't match the surcharge increase initiated by American, spokeswoman Betsy Talton said.
Graeme Wallace of FareCompare.com, a ticket-research company, said earlier that Delta had matched it.
In a move that began four days ago, American and others raised fares $20 round trip and then dropped them back after Continental Airlines Inc. rescinded that increase.
AMR plans to retire as many as 85 jets, cut domestic seats by 12 percent and eliminate "thousands" of jobs to cope with fuel costs and slowing demand