Airline industry woes chip away passenger choices.
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 taxis after landing at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington for the first time June 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing By Rhys Jones and Maria Sheahan (Reuters) - Air passengers face higher fares, fewer flight choices and crowded aircraft as European carriers trim seating capacity growth or cut routes altogether, as they battle to salvage profits and fend off the impact of rising fuel prices. With jet fuel prices near record highs at the same time as taxes and airport charges rise, airlines are curbing the growth of capacity - the number of seats they make available - and the frequency of some flights to lower costs and not drive away customers already spooked by rising fares. According to the Association of European Airlines, capacity among its member airlines eased by 4.6 percent in the first half of this year compared with the year-earlier period. But that decline comes after an increase of almost 23 percent betw...