Continental Leads Hike In Leisure Air Fares

U.S. airlines, led by Continental Airlines Inc., raised leisure fares for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks reduced demand and generated record losses.

Continental raised round-trip leisure fares by $20 and was matched by AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. on some or all of their routes. A Continental leisure fare for a round-trip flight between Los Angeles and Newark, N.J., rose to $337 from $317, according to fare consultants Trippler & Associates Inc.