Heres my $0.02 on raising fares: Do it!

Heres the way I figure it:

1. You figure if you have an airplane that seats 150 people (lets just assume and all-coach cabin), raising the fair by a little will still give you a good bit of extra money. A $10 increase (lets just assume a one-way trip) will mean an additional $1500 in revenue collected for that flight. A $15 increase will give you $2250 in additional revenue. Might be just enough to turn a profit on that particular flight.

2. ALOT of people won't notice the increase. Alot of people who fly don't do it often; maybe once every couple years. They may not notice that the fares have "increased" and in most caes they'll still be able to afford it.

3. ALOT of the people who fly very frequently are business travelers, so their airfare is paid for by their company. Also, they often book on very short notice, so you get alot of revenue from them (they also very often do business or first class).

4. Good economy and passenger acceptance/demand: Some articles I've seen recently say that passenger demand is still very very high for this summer and it even says that passengers are understanding of the higher fares, and accept them. As for pax always looking for the cheapest rates, perhaps not always. I have a good friend who recently flew on JetBlue but says she still prefers Continental, even though they may be slightly more expensive.

Just like Drahcir1 said: even if you raise the fare a little, you'll probably still fill the airplane.