Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier, said is it is likely to hike round-trip fares by $5-$10 per-round-trip in an effort to offset higher fuel prices.

Currently, the country's flagship airline purchases 30 percent of its fuel abroad, and with jet fuel prices in Europe up by more than one-third since the beginning of the year, Aeroflot said it needs to control operating losses.

"There is no set date yet, but we want to warn our passengers ahead of time of the increase in rates," said Aeroflot representative Julia Mariashkina. "The increase is possible, but not definite, and would be between $5-$10 on each round-trip ticket.

"Of course, no one's happy when prices go up, but it's necessary due to the fuel prices," she added.

She said the increases would ideally apply to both international and domestic flights, although hikes on internal routes would have more of an effect on passengers due to lower purchasing capacities.

Of Russian airlines, Novosibirsk-based Sibir airline started the ball rolling with fare increases. It raised certain ticket prices by 7-8 percent from Oct. 1.

"We use roughly the same amount of fuel on flights to Khabarovsk or Vladivostok as we do to New York, although we charge considerably less for the domestic flights," Mariashkina said.

Yelena Sakhnova, aerospace specialist at Aton brokerage, said Aeroflot was feeling the pinch from the year's high fuel costs. "Aeroflot has been affected heavily," she said. "The forecast for fuel expenditure this year was $256 million, but now it is more likely to be $290 million, so they have to increase tariffs."

She noted that the price increases would normally be structured differently and cast doubt on whether Aeroflot's across-the-board hike was the wisest option.

"It is surprising that they want to add this $5-$10 on all flights, regardless of their usual cost. Normally this figure would be a percentage, so it is unclear how they calculated it," she said.

She added that, although expensive fuel was a headache for Aeroflot in the short term, it could have positive implications for the longer term.

"High fuel prices play a double role for Aeroflot," she said. "On one hand, they are a problem because of increased costs, but at the same time oil prices are good for the country and mean growth in per capita income. Long term, people have more money for travel, which will benefit Aeroflot."