Skymark Airlines Inc. plans to raise ticket prices for at least the second time in three months as it tries to cover fuel costs that have jumped 40 percent this business year.

Japan's largest discount airline will raise ticket prices in step with higher fuel costs, President Shinichi Nishikubo said in a recent interview. The carrier increased prices as much as 20 percent in June and will raise prices by about 20 percent again in September.

Skymark, which doesn't hedge fuel purchases, is depending on customers being willing to pay more to stay profitable. The Tokyo-based airline forecasts earnings will drop 92 percent this year after a shortage of pilots forced it to cut flights.