Average price of a plane ticket drops

WASHINGTON — The average price of a plane ticket on U.S. airlines fell slightly in the first quarter from year-ago levels, a new government report said.

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The average price of a domestic round-trip plane ticket was $380 in the fourth quarter, down 0.6 percent from the same quarter last year, the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Wednesday.

Fares were unchanged from the fourth quarter of last year and were still about $42 below highs reached in early 2001. Among major airports, the highest fares were found in Cincinnati; Anchorage, Alaska; Honolulu; San Francisco and at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The lowest were found at Dallas Love Field, Chicago Midway Airport, Houston's Hobby Airport, and the airports at Islip, N.Y. and Buffalo, N.Y.

Shares of U.S. airlines lost altitude Thursday along with the broader market. U.S. Airways Group Inc., Midwest Air Group Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc. posted declines in their second-quarter earnings as they struggled with high fuel prices.