Airfares in region rise faster than US average

Airfares have been rising faster than the national average recently for trips out of Logan International Airport, T.F. Green Airport outside Providence, and Manchester Boston Regional Airport, according to data from the US Department of Transportation released today.

During the April-June quarter of this year, airfares rose 5.3 percent, compared to a quarter earlier nationally, but were up 8.3 percent on flights from Logan, 9.3 percent from Manchester, and 9.9 percent from Providence, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Air Travel Price Index.

Dan Kasper, managing director of LECG LLG, a Cambridge aviation consulting firm, said it is likely that fare increases by Southwest Airlines Co. -- which carries more than 50 percent of passengers at both Manchester and Providence -- accounted for the disproportionate fare increases at those airports.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)