Airfare Increases Out of Dayton, Ohio, Reported Among Highest in U.S.

DAYTON - Some of the largest airfare increases from fourth-quarter 2004 to fourthquarter 2005 occurred in Dayton, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported last week.

The bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said that the Air Travel Price Index rose 9.1 percent nationally in the fourth quarter of 2005.

A five-year low had been set in the fourth quarter of 2004, the bureau said.

The highest price increases among the 85 largest airline markets, ranked by number of passengers, were:

* 25.9 percent in Cincinnati.

* 19 percent for Greensboro/ High Point, N.C.

* 18 percent for Grand Rapids, Mich.

* 17 percent for Dayton.

* 16 percent in Atlanta.

Bureau spokesman Dave Smallen said Friday that Cincinnati's prices rose because Delta Air Lines revised its previous fare system.

"Cincinnati in previous quarters had the largest decrease in fares, and that has turned around," he said.

The airlines are raising fares in response to rising costs, Smallen said, noting that those costs include fuel.

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