The Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said its first-quarter numbers represented the largest year-to-year increase in average domestic airfares since the second quarter of 2006. Even so, it said, average fares through the first quarter remained 4.6 percent below the January-to-March high set in 2001.
It said the average domestic itinerary fare in the first quarter of this year was $332.
Among the 100 largest U.S. airports, Boston saw the largest year-to-year average fare increase by percentage in the first quarter.
Atlantic City, N.J., saw the biggest average fare decrease by percentage, and had the lowest fares.
Cincinnati's airport had the highest average fares in the quarter, the government said.
As long as oil prices remain high, the airlines will continue to struggle, and fliers can expect higher fares and more fees.
Information for this article was drawn from ABC News and the Associated Press.
