American Airlines warns of fare increases if oil remains high

American Airlines warned airline passengers may eventually face higher ticket prices if oil prices remain high, prompting carriers to remove seats from the market. Oil prices have risen around 50% compared to the levels seen last year and that is putting pressure on airline profits. "If it becomes clear this is the new normal you would see over time less capacity and growth in the industry and therefore higher prices, but I don't think that's going to happen in the near term," CE Doug Parker said. IATA has said that Monday it will revise down its forecast for industry profitability this year due to higher oil, infrastructure and labour costs. <br/>