Airlines bump up prices and trim schedules

US airlines intend charging travellers extra as they go ahead with plans to trim their domestic schedules due to the high cost of fuel.

Fares will rise, discounts currently available will be scarce, and routes and frequencies of flights will be reduced.

Other changes starting in September will include payment for luggage, ...

While travel analysts suspect as prices will go up, fewer people will travel, they say despite the sluggish US economy, the general demand for airline travel is better than it was post-9/11.

On average, domestic fares between large metro cities are already up roughly 16 percent since early January.