Alaska Air Joins Business Fare Trial

Alaska Air Group Inc. said it would join some competitors and begin to test whether lower business and first-class air fares on Alaska Airlines can persuade higher-paying business fliers to return to the skies.

Shares of Seattle-based Alaska Air were unchanged at $19.44 on the New York Stock Exchange. The airline said it would cut prices by hundreds of dollars for last-minute business-class and first-class travel on some routes.

A ticket for travel between Seattle and Boston, bought three days in advance, will cost $499 instead of $839 as part of the new strategy, the airline said. Business-class fares for flights from Anchorage to Chicago will be cut nearly in half to $574.