JetBlue expects fares, fee increases to continue

NEW YORK (AP) — JetBlue is tacking on surcharges on flights to the Caribbean to cover its rising fuel bill, and said airlines should continue to pass these costs on through higher fares.

The New York airline said in a conference call after the release of its fourth-quarter earnings that it's glad to see that airlines are raising fares to cover the price of fuel, their largest expense.

JetBlue expects to pay 17 percent more for fuel in the first three months of the year than it did in the fourth-quarter. Fuel jumped 16 percent in the October-to-December period from the year before.

The airline raised ticket prices by about 4 percent in the fourth-quarter and recently added a $35 fuel surcharge for flights in or out of Puerto Rico and $45 for Caribbean destinations.

JetBlue hopes to get 20 percent more in fees this year. Passengers on average paid $20 apiece in extra fees in the fourth-quarter, mostly for more spacious seats. For all of last year, travelers paid $85 million to sit in seats with "Even More Legroom."