Leisure Travelers Paying More To Fly This Summer

Spring was a bargain season for air travelers, but fares are going up.

The major airlines have begun to push through a series of fare increases. Airline industry analyst David Field says there were two increases in June, and the hikes range from $20 to $40. However, those increases won't guarantee a return to profitability for the airlines this year.

But what happened to get airlines to start moving their fares higher? Field tells Renee Montagne that he thinks airlines believe the incredible decline in demand has bottomed out, and that people are starting to fly more.

Leisure travelers appear to be the target of the recent hikes. Field says summer is when the airlines make up for losing money all year.

Another area hurting the airline industry is international travel. That market has fallen off dramatically. Field says overseas flights usually pick up the slack for domestic travel, but that's not happening.

Field says for the airlines it will be a ""long hard slog back to profitablilty."