airfare Archives - TravelSkills

The season for jaw-dropping low fares

September 29, 2016

The view over the Venetian from my room at the Palazzo in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Tis’ the season for jaw-dropping last-minute fare sales from airlines. Yesterday, JetBlue offered round trip fares between San Francisco and Las Vegas or Long Beach for as little as $19 one way. Today, the fare has increased to about $39 each way, which is still a very good deal. Another crazy deal? American Airlines is offering $100 round trip fares between New York Kennedy and San Juan.

These super low fares are good examples of JetBlue’s (and all airlines’) strategy of dumping unsold inventory at super low prices during the slow fall months. It’s the time when kids are back in school, parents are back at work and there’s not much interest in flying. In the travel biz, this is what’s known as the “shoulder season” and it’s always a great time for bargain hunters with the flexibility to drop everything and go when a deal pops up.

In the case of JetBlue, it’s a relatively small player in the Bay Area, and not the first airline that comes to mind when you think of flying to Las Vegas or Southern California. This type of “flash sale” helps them gain mindshare (and not fly empty planes!). Keep in mind that the very best deals with this sale are those that have passengers departing and returning on mid-week. If you want to fly down and back for the weekend, you’ll pay $200-$300.

Fare calendar from Google Flights shows rock bottom fares to Vegas-

A JetBlue spokesperson told TravelSkills: “Flash Fares are something we do from time to time, offering amazing deals on select flights and dates. The fares are subject to availability and for a limited time. For those watching @JetBlue or @JetBlueCheeps on Twitter, or our Facebook account though, there are some great deals for those that can act fast!”

The Bay Area to Las Vegas market is highly competitive these days. We’ve seen similar crazy low fares (just $58 round trip) between Oakland and Las Vegas, which just entered the market last month. Southwest, Virgin America, Spirit, United are all in the market and frequently match these low fares.

On the beach in Culebra, my favorite place in Puerto Rico (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Here’s another example of crazy low fares: This morning, American Airlines has $100 round trip fares between New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico for those willing to fly midweek during October. (That’s a whopping 3,200 miles round trip!)

$100 roundtrip JFK-SJU for October flights (Source Google flights)

Keep an eye on TravelSkills, or follow the social media accounts of the airlines to stay abreast of these last minute deals. We are in for some very good deals between now and Thanksgiving when shoulder season ends and fares go back up. The next time you’ll see crazy low last minute fares will be during the “dead weeks” of early January- and we’ll have ’em here!

Happy fare hunting!

–Chris McGinnis

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts! Kicking support animals off planes | Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | Marriott-Starwood: Higher prices, better rewards | The 10,000 points question! | Eye-catching maps explain state of the world | Test your planespotting skills! )

DONT MISS! The 100,000 points question!

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All airlines match latest fare sale

June 3, 2015

Delta offers jumbo wide-ride 767 flights between SFO and its Atlanta hub (InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr)

Delta and other airlines have discounted fares for fall travel (InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr)

As we expected, all major US airlines including Delta, United and American have responded to the nationwide fare sale initiated by Southwest Airlines yesterday. (UPDATE: Fare sale extended to midnight Friday June 4)

Southwest’s fares appear to be lowest in our quick scan of fares today… so other airlines have responded, but only on routes where they compete with Southwest.

Delta’s response appears most tepid. For example, Southwest’s lowest intra-California fares are $100, and so are United’s, but Delta’s are $150. Southwest’s lowest fares for Atlanta-Florida flights are $100 while Delta’s are $150. Most of Southwest’s transcons are at about $300 round trip, while others are more like $325-$350.

Now this was a surprise: We found United heavily discounting first/business class flights between San Francisco and Atlanta, Dallas or Chicago… as low as $627 roundtrip throughout the late summer fall. THAT’S a deal!

United’s ATL SFO fares in September (Image: United.com)

Most of these fares are limited but represent good value if you have plans for late summer or fall trips.

You can travel from August 25 all the way to Christmas with the usual blackouts around holidays.

Must book by midnight FRIDAY (updated)

Details here

Sale fares here:

Nationwide airfare sale for early/late summer

April 28, 2015

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all three of today’s TravelSkills posts about: Eastern Airlines back in the sky & New Ritz-Carlton in Chicago (kinda) & Admirals Clubs!

United launched a summer fare sale today (Photo: Jim Glab)

Late today United posted a fare sale for early and late summer travel– fares are pretty good (not great), and quite a relief from the painfully high fares we are seeing for peak summer travel season this year.

So this might work for you if you have flexible summer travel plans.

But there are some unwelcome restrictions like Saturday night stay requirements and Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday travel dates for the cheapest fares.

As usual, other airlines will likely match this sale in the next 24-48 hours, so check around. (UPDATE: Delta has matched this sale, but for late summer dates only)

Some sample roundtrip fares that look kinda enticing:

Chicago-Los Angeles $332
New York-Denver $260
San Francisco – Chicago $370
Boston-Houston $260
Denver-Los Angeles $186
San Diego-Washington DC $358

New: United’s sweet 50,000-mile bonus is back

Here are the details/restrictions of United’s sale.

You must buy tickets by May 7, and roundtrip purchase is likely required

Spring/early summer dates for trips are May 12 – June 3

Late summer/fall dates for trips are August 25 -October

The cheapest fares are for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday

You must stay over a Saturday night

There are blackout dates around Memorial Day (May 21, 22, 25) and Labor Day (September 3, 4, 7)

Link to United fare sale page

–Chris McGinnis

New: United’s sweet 50,000-mile bonus is back

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all three of today’s TravelSkills posts about: Eastern Airlines back in the sky & New Ritz-Carlton in Chicago (kinda) & Admirals Clubs!

Are lower fuel costs resulting in lower airfares?

February 16, 2015

How will lower fuel costs affect airfares? (Photo: Deni Williams / Flickr)

Will falling fuel costs result in lower airfares? Is it too early to book holiday trips?

Earlier this month I had a meeting with the scientists behind the new airfare prediction website FLYR, at their headquarters in downtown San Francisco. After that meeting I came up with some fare-related questions that TravelSkills readers might like to ask these smart guys.

Last week I asked them to help us predict what spring-summer airfares will look like this year. (see that post)

Today, I’ve asked them to examine what impact lower fuel costs might have on airfares later this year… and into the holidays.

Q: Will airlines lower fares at the last minute for travel to Europe this summer due to sharply lower fuel costs? Will decreased demand from Europeans due to weak currency situation bring prices down compared to last year?

FLYR: In general, we do not recommend waiting until the last minute for any airfares unless it is absolutely necessary (see previous post to learn why). Regarding fuel costs and currencies, these are issues that we at FLYR recently examined, due to the immense public interest in the recent plunge in crude oil prices.

We observed that over the rise and fall of jet fuel prices in the past two decades, airfares are remarkably stable in comparison. Part of this lies in the relative elasticity of demand between the two products. See the charts above (and below) which compare what we pay in fares to what airlines pay for fuel. Note how inflation adjusted airfares have remained nearly flat over the last 20 years, while fuel prices have jumped around wildly.

Another reason fares are not heavily affected by fuel prices is the use of fuel price hedging by airlines (the extent of the practice varies by carrier). When fuel prices are hedged in monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual contracts, airlines get a better sense as to what operational costs look like in the near future. Likewise, these hedges act as a buffer against sudden changes in spot prices.

Predicting spring-summer airfares

The quarter-on-quarter changes since 2007 represent some of the most volatile periods for energy prices in recent history. Even so, you can see a counter-cyclical-like movement trend between fuel prices and airfares. It’s not really a counter-cyclical relationship of course; rather, it’s a one or two quarter lag before any drastic changes show up in airfare pricing.

Similar to commodities hedging, currency fluctuations are also hedged by a number of carriers with global reach. Therefore, we expect that a large part of the recent currency swings will be absorbed at the carrier level. Any effects felt at the consumer level (if at all) would take time to hit.

Q: For Holiday season travel, I need to travel on peak days around Xmas….should I book my ticket home for the holidays NOW or should I wait?

FLYR: There’s definitely a feeling of dread when it comes to booking holiday travel — not least due to the skyrocketing fares on certain peak days. That said, we found that the trajectory of holiday vs. non-holiday airfares is actually very similar. So what accounts for the extra cost of airfares?

There are two primary factors at work. First, certain discount fare classes are completely removed from holiday inventory, so needless to say holiday travelers shouldn’t count on snagging a “killer deal” during peak travel dates.

Second, travelers tend to book a few extra weeks in advance due to the relative importance of holiday travel and the fear factor associated with expensive holiday airfares (talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!). Our advice? Expect to pay more – not because you necessarily missed a lower fare, but because there were fewer lower fares to begin with. Book your holiday trips a few weeks earlier than you normally would, but certainly no need to book (or stress about the holidays) nine months in advance.

See previous post about predicting spring-summer airfares

–Chris McGinnis

In Case You Missed It…

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Have you been following our super popular Planespotting 101 series? Check out our first two installments here:

Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

Planespotting 101: MD-80/90 & Boeing 717

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Predicting spring-summer airfares

February 13, 2015

Have you checked out the beautiful new airfare prediction site FLYR yet?

I’m a new fan of the free service, which drills down fare predictions to specific flights and advises users to buy or wait. Its “fare beacons” monitor fares on these flights for you and email an alert when it’s time to buy. It can also predict the likelihood of a certain flight selling out.

FLYR predictions are made based on monitoring mountains of historical airfare data that is sliced and diced with “adaptive price-forecasting algorithms.” While its predictive services do not yet cover every single flight in the world…they are slowly getting there. For now, it’s primarily a tool for pricing domestic US flights. According to the site today, they are monitoring 1,923 routes.

Are lower fuel costs resulting in lower airfares?

Flyr offers advice on when to buy or when to wait

Earlier this month I had a meeting with the scientists behind the startup at their headquarters in downtown San Francisco. After that meetup I thought of some fare-related questions that TravelSkills readers might like to ask these smart guys.

I’ll present the Q&A in two parts. Here’s part One:

Q: When will I find best airfare deals for Spring Break planning? When are the best times to fly?

FLYR: The US market is relatively fortunate in that our schedule for Spring Break covers a long period and is variable among travelers (from mid-February to late-April), as opposed to the rather “firm” dates found in East Asia such as Lunar New Year (Feb 19) and Golden Week in Japan (April 29-May 5).

We compiled a “Deal Index” looking at current airfares to the most popular domestic destinations for Spring Break, including Florida, Southern California, and Las Vegas. We examined the most popular travel weekends for air travel running from March through mid-April. (See chart at top)

The weekends with a higher deal index rating are generally better bets for cheap departures, while those with lower ratings are likely already filling up. Travelers with a bit of flexibility in their schedules should definitely avoid initiating travel on those higher-demand weekends. (Note that Easter is Sunday April 5 this year.)

For travelers who wish to check on a particular flight itinerary, our getFLYR.com website is able to deliver BUY/WAIT advice on most of these individual airfares.

Q: For summer planning, is now the best time to buy tickets to Europe for travel during peak summer season (JUL-AUG) or should I wait?

One of the most widely held beliefs among travelers is that earlier always means cheaper. Not necessarily. While buying far in advance will generally ensure that you will avoid paying the highest prices, they usually undergo some dramatic changes in the lead-up to the date of departure:

We examined current airfare data from multiple gateway cities in the US to major destinations in Europe. While airfares held steady over 120 days out, they do drop dramatically after that. While there will be cases where certainty in confirming a booking is necessary many months in advance, there appears to be little else compelling about booking your flights to Europe more than four months before you travel.

The caveat of course, is that this is highly dependent upon the particular route, carrier, and flight that each individual traveler is looking at. We have noted that a certain level of market disruption has already been introduced by the likes of Turkish Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle in US-Europe flights, especially in the cities being served.

Next time, we’ll ask the FLYR folks how plummeting fuel prices and currency fluctuations will affect summer fares. Stay tuned! (UPDATE: Here’s the second part of our series with FLYR:

Are lower fuel costs resulting in lower airfares?

–Chris McGinnis

Have you been following our super popular Planespotting 101 series? Check out our first two installments here:

Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

Planespotting 101: MD-80/90 & Boeing 717

+++

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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6 steps for getting the “best” airfare

November 3, 2014

Want to make Chris’s eyes roll? Then ask him: “what’s the best day to buy airline tickets?” 🙂

My eyes roll and I sigh every time I see study or opinion about “the best day” to shop for airline tickets. It’s all a bunch of malarkey!

And it’s even more bogus at this time of year when the peak holiday travel season is approaching and all “rules” get thrown out the window.

For many years, Tuesday was supposedly the “best day” for airfare shopping. A recent study shows that weekends, especially Sundays can be even better. I’ve heard some people we should stay up until 1 a.m. on Wednesdays. According to some experts, you should buy your ticket 42 days ahead of time. Oh, wait, the latest study says 57 days.

That might all be “generally” true but the fact is that there is no “best day” for buying airlines tickets because each traveler and trip is different. The same holds true for credit cards… there’s no single card that’s perfect for frequent travelers— just one that’s best for you. For both, there are just too many variables.

Here are 6 steps to remember when fare shopping:

1) Determine the “going rate” for the trip on the dates that work best for you– and keep in mind that Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are generally the cheapest days for flying. Shop for fares on your airline of choice and also on fare comparison or shopping sites (my favorite is the ITA Matrix, but it’s kinda geeky). Google’s Flight Search tool is great for a cursory glance. Don’t forget to check Southwest.com since Southwest fares don’t show up on most comparison sites.

2) Factor in fluctuations in demand for your target price. For example, you won’t find that $250 transcontinental round trip around Christmas or in July or August…but you might find it during the dead weeks of early January. You’ll likely find a decent summer fare to Europe in June… but feggedaboutit in July or August. Subscribe to blogs like TravelSkills or follow our Facebook & Twitter feeds to stay on top of periodic fare sales.

3) Set up fare alerts for price drops– fare shopping sites such as AirFareWatchDog, Kayak, Hipmunk, FareCompare or major online travel agencies will do this for you. Based on your research of the “going rate” set a fare level that feels comfortable for you (based on demand), and you’ll get an email if the fare drops below that. Don’t forget to include all the airports near your destination– some can be significantly cheaper than others.

POPULAR this week: How often do planes get washed? Surprising answer

4) Once you see a fare that fits into your budget and timeframe, BUY IT. Feel good knowing that you snagged a good seat on a convenient flight at a reasonable price. Don’t sweat it. By waiting, you’d likely not find the most convenient flight for you. Convenience is worth paying for.

5) Monitor for fare drops during the 24-hour grace period you have for canceling reservations without penalty. In the rare case that you find a lower fare within 24 hours, cancel your original reservation without penalty, rebook, and repeat.

6) If you are still worried that you might have paid too much, Yapta.com will monitor your fare and help you get a refund if you discover you overpaid. (But Yapta can’t get you out of paying cancellation or change penalties.)

What are your best tips for snagging the lowest fares? What’s the best deal you’ve obtained this year? Please leave your comments below.

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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Big fare sale + Fancy food on United + Uber raises fares + Cuts at Qantas + Better biz class on AA

August 24, 2014

United upgrades first class fare with items like this caprese on Asiago baguette (Photo: United)

(TravelSkills is based in the Bay Area and yes, we felt the earthquake early Sunday morning! Thankfully no damage here at HQ. The rumble felt like riding along a dirt road in a Winnebago in the dark.)

AIRLINES

Big fare sale. As a busy summer comes to a close, all airlines have put fall and winter flights on sale, and most of these fares represent good value if you can book ahead of time. To get the deal, you must book by Thursday, August 28. Discounts are good for trips from early September all the way through early March. As usual, they do not include holiday season flights and include other limitations (like Saturday night stays) that make them mostly unusable for business travelers. But if you have a flexible schedule, you’ll like what you see here. United | Delta | American | Southwest | Virgin America NOTE: Many of the best deals are already sold out. To stay up to day on newsy updates and alerts like this, be sure to LIKE TravelSkills on Facebook.

United revamps food & beverage. Premium travelers on United Airlines will see improvements in in-flight meals and drinks in the weeks ahead, as the airline unveiled plans for new options. The changes are aimed at first and business class customers on North American routes longer than 800 miles, who this month started seeing premium salads, and in September will be offered premium sandwiches and wraps like prosciutto on tomato focaccia, Thai chicken wrap, and Cobb salad wrap. This fall, United will add Prosecco sparkling wine to the beverage list, and next year it will extend the changes to the front cabins of shorter flights and United Express. In other news, United has introduced self-service bag tagging at its Chicago O’Hare hub. (What do you think of United’s first class food? Will the improvements change your booking habits?)

American starts refitting 777-200s. American Airlines has started work on a previously announced change to its international fleet, expanding the number of lie-flat business class seats on its 777-200s and eliminating first class. The change — which will leave AA’s 14 new 777-300ERs as the only ones in its fleet offering three-class service — follows a trend among major U.S. to scale back or eliminate the traditional front cabin to meet the changing demands of the business travel marketplace. (This makes me wonder how long it will take AA to yank those first class seats on its A321Ts flying between California and JFK, and replace them with business class.)

(Image: WoodlyWonderWorks Flickr)

Are you in the market for a new credit card? Looking for a fat points or mileage bonus to sweeten your balance? Then check out our BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS and scoop up the deals!

Cathay adds BOS, remakes lounge. Boston travelers will get their first direct access to Hong Kong next spring, when Cathay Pacific is slated to start non-stop service on the route with a 777-300ER. Cathay will fly the route — its sixth U.S. gateway — four times a week, starting May 15, 2015. Meanwhile, Cathay also revealed plans to overhaul The Pier, its first class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, remaking it to resemble a luxury apartment, with several rooms devoted to different purposes.

Big cuts coming at Qantas. Qantas announced this week that it would cut costs in its international division to the tune of a whopping $1 billion. The reasons for a massive cuts include overcapacity, competition from foreign carriers (especially UAE carriers) and weakened demand for flights between Australia and Asia. How will this affect the US to Australia market? The Sydney Morning Herald reports that one of Qantas two Sydney-Los Angeles flights will shift from a morning to an evening departure and it will add three weekly flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles in January. “The capacity increase comes as Virgin Australia recently announced it would withdraw its three weekly Melbourne-Los Angeles 777 flights from October in favour of a daily offering on the Brisbane-Los Angeles route. United Airlines will launch new 787-9 flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles around the same time,” the newspaper reports.

Frontier overhauls its elite status. Frontier Airlines told members of its EarlyReturns loyalty program that it is changing the requirements and benefits of elite status effective February 20, 2015. The existing Ascent and Summit levels will be replaced with a single status called simply Frontier Elite, and to achieve it, members have to fly 20,000 miles or 25 segments during this calendar year. Members will no longer get a free checked bag, but they will get a free carry-on (the airline now charges for carry-ons), and elite benefits will no longer be extended to members’ traveling companions. The airline also said it will impose a fee for redeeming miles, starting October 31, 2014.

CARS

UberBLACK prices soar in SF. (Photo: Uber)

UberBLACK raising fares. Last week we were alerted to a 7% hike in UberBLACK fares and the disappearance of flat fares to the airport by a TravelSkills reader in San Francisco who wrote, “Wanted to ask you whether you were aware that Uber has quietly dropped flat fares to SFO? It apparently happened this week. I was unpleasantly surprised tonight when I was charged a $92 fare from lower Pacific Heights to SFO in Uber black car. In fairness, the company dropped it to $65 when I emailed them tonight to complain, but buyer beware. These are the new fees. A 50% increase is beyond a rip off. I’ll be going back to my regular limo company that charged the same $65.” We did find this blurb on its blog about the increase: “As we make UberBLACK even better, we’re updating how we present pricing. Starting today we’re slightly increasing prices by 7% and transitioning away from flat rates. We know you rely on UberBLACK and you trust us to get you where you need to go.” Uber told TravelSkills that “each market is different” and that this post was written specifically for San Francisco. Have you noticed any changes in recent Uber pricing in other cities? What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

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Uber links bookings to United, Hyatt apps. Uber is expanding its reach to a much wider market, especially business travelers, by releasing an application programming interface that links its booking service to the mobile apps of other companies. Its 11 launch partners include United Airlines and Hyatt Hotels, as well as other apps used frequently by business travelers like restaurant finder OpenTable, TripAdvisor, and even Starbucks. Users who sign up for Uber through the new partner links will get an incentive discount, and United is offering 1,000 bonus miles.

National offers free rental days. Members of National Car Rental’s Emerald Club can earn free days with the company’s Rent Rent Reward promotion. Registered members will get one free rental day for every two qualifying rentals of a mid-sized or larger vehicle for two days or more from now through January 31, 2015.

AIRPORTS

Phony TSA agent at SFO gets off. A Bay Area executive took airport hi-jinks a little too far when he had too much to drink and decided to pose as a TSA agent, then patted down a couple of female travelers. He was arrested, but charges were dropped because the two women had flown off and couldn’t be located. Another interesting fact emerged from the incident: While it is against the law to impersonate a cop, it’s not illegal to pretend you’re a TSA agent.

Southwest finishes move to new DAL terminal. In preparation for its big expansion of service October 13 to a number of long-haul routes out of Dallas’ Love Field, Southwest Airlines has completed the move of all flight operations out of the airport’s old terminal into the new one. The old building is now slated for demolition. Southwest was only using two gates in the old terminal; it will occupy 16 of the 20 gates in the shiny new one.

In Case You Missed It

>United will fly a Newark-San Francisco using a new 787-9 Dreamliner flight on October 20

>Will air travel to Europe be disrupted again by a new Icelandic volcano eruption, as it was in 2010?

>Ramsey takes a look at Airbus’ new A350-900 widebody.

>Virgin America is moving into the big leagues of airline competition.

-Jim Glab & Chris McGinnis

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Early Thanksgiving & Christmas fare sale

August 28, 2012

Southwest Airlines recently painted a 737 based on the Colorado state flag.

One of the biggest downsides of downsizing in the airline industry is that peak holiday airfares head into the stratosphere. Since 2005, the supply of airline seats flying around out there has declined about 10%. However, during holiday peaks, demand is the same or greater than before, which results in painful spikes in airfare.

Southwest and AirTran announced an interesting TWO DAY systemwide fare sale today, which offers nearly half off the going rate if you are willing to travel on the DAY of the holiday… i.e. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

This sale fare applies to flights on Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22), Christmas Eve (Monday, Dec 24) and Christmas Day (Tuesday, Dec 25).

Take a look at Southwest and AirTran and see much you can save if you are willing to fly on off peak days around Thanksgiving. While Delta has not announced this sale, we found matching fares on routes where they compete with Southwest and AirTran.

Let’s say you get up early and fly to San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, getting there just in time for the big feast (and then returning on the Tuesday after). The lowest fare right now is $366. But if you travel when everyone else wants to, such as the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, you’ll pay dearly, with the current lowest fare at $619.

Same goes for flights from ATL to Boston. If you fly up on Thanksgiving morning, and fly back the following Tuesday, the lowest fare is $281.60. But if you fly on peak days such as the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, the current lowest fare soars to $438.00.

(Note: These fares were searched Tues, 28 Aug and are subject to change)

Keep in mind that this sale is good today through Thursday only… so if you are mulling heading home for the holidays, it might be a good time to start checking fares and making decisions.

Another important note– for this post, I only researched NONSTOP flights– and I always suggest traveling non-stop during the winter holidays– it reduces the likelihood of delays and offers the maximum amount of time with family for the holidays. You will likely see nonstop fares rise significantly as we approach the holidays, while one-stop fares might be lower.

Here’s the fine print regarding this sale (identical for Southwest and AirTran):

Purchase from August 28 through August 30, 2012, 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
Travel September 7 through February 13, 2013.
Blackout Dates Apply: October 5, October 12, October 19, November 16-November 21, November 23-November 26, December 20-December 23, December 26-December 31, 2012, and January 1-January 2, 2013.
Sale fares not valid for travel to New Orleans January 31-February 2 or February 6-February 9, 2013, nor from New Orleans February 4-February 5 or February 7-February 13, 2013.
Travel valid every day except Sundays.
Offer not available to/from Washington D.C. (Dulles); Key West, FL

What about you? Is it time to bite the bullet and commit to holiday travel plans? Given the strength of the summer travel season, I don’t expect to see many fare sales for the holidays this year…

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Early Thanksgiving-Christmas airfare sale

August 28, 2012

Southwest Airlines recently painted a 737 based on the Colorado state flag.

This sale fare applies to flights on Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22), Christmas Eve (Monday, Dec 24) and Christmas Day (Tuesday, Dec 25).

Take a look at how much you can save if you are willing to fly on off peak days around Thanksgiving.

SFO>Chicago-Midway.

If you can fly out on Thanksgiving Day and return on the Tuesday after, the lowest fare is just $318.

But if you can only fly on peak days…such as the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, the lowest fare spikes to $532:

The same goes for Southwest or AirTran nonstops between SFO and Atlanta.

Let’s say you get up early and fly to Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day, getting there just in time for an evening feast (and then returning on the Tuesday after). The lowest fare is $366.

But if you travel when everyone else wants to, such as the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, you’ll pay dearly, with the lowest fare at $619.

Keep in mind that this is good today through Thursday only… so if you are mulling heading home for the holidays, it might be a good time to start checking fares and making decisions. While I used Southwest as an example, you will likely find other airlines matching these fares later today.

Another important note– see how I only searched for NONSTOP flights? I always suggest traveling non-stop during the winter holidays– it reduces the likelihood of delays and offers the maximum amount of time with family for the holidays. You will likely see nonstop fares rise significantly as we approach the holidays, while one-stop fares might be lower.

Here’s the fine print regarding this sale (identical for Southwest and AirTran):

Purchase from August 28 through August 30, 2012, 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
Travel September 7 through February 13, 2013.
Blackout Dates Apply: October 5, October 12, October 19, November 16-November 21, November 23-November 26, December 20-December 23, December 26-December 31, 2012, and January 1-January 2, 2013.
Sale fares not valid for travel to New Orleans January 31-February 2 or February 6-February 9, 2013, nor from New Orleans February 4-February 5 or February 7-February 13, 2013.
Travel valid every day except Sundays.
Offer not available to/from Washington D.C. (Dulles); Key West, FL

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Deal Alert: Late summer/fall fare sales start early

June 12, 2012

If peak season fares will keep you grounded this summer, here’s some great news: Southwest and AirTran have kicked off a decent late summer/early fall fare sale, but you’ve got to act fast. That’s because the sale only lasts 72-hours and only a handful of seats on each plane are selling at the discounted prices. Here are the specifics:

>Travel dates: Travel must take place between Monday, August 13 and Wednesday, November 14.

>Roundtrip fares range from $100 to $280 roundtrip (all in), based on flight length. For travel up to 500 miles, fares are $100 round trip. For travel 501 to 1,300 miles, fares are $200 round trip. For travel 1,301 or more miles, fares are $280 round trip. (Fares are available one-way.)

>This is a 72-hour sale, so tickets must be purchased online at Southwest.com or AirTran.com between today and midnight Thursday, June 14.

>Sale fares are NOT available on Fridays or Sundays. Blackout dates: Aug. 18, Aug. 30, Sept. 3, and Sept. 4, 2012.

>I expect Delta and other carriers to match most of these fares, so shop around if you don’t find the fare you want.

>Based on what we’ve seen fare-wise this summer, these are some great deals. Sample roundtrip AirTran fares from ATL include:

$100: Charlotte, Dayton, Jacksonville, Memphis, Orlando, St Louis

$200: Austin, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Washington DC

$280: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle

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Deal ALERT: Late summer/fall fares sales start early

June 12, 2012

If peak season fares will keep you grounded this summer, here’s some great news: This morning, Southwest.com and AirTran.com kicked off a decent late summer/early fall fare sale, but you’ve got to act fast. That’s because the sale only lasts 72-hours and only a handful of seats on each plane are selling at the discounted prices. Here are the specifics:

>Travel dates: Travel must take place between Monday, August 13 and Wednesday, November 14.

>This is a 72-hour sale, so tickets must be purchased online at Southwest.com or AirTran.com between today and midnight Thursday, June 14.

>Sale fares are NOT available on Fridays or Sundays. Blackout dates: Aug. 18, Aug. 30, Sept. 3, and Sept. 4, 2012.

>I expect United, Delta and other carriers to match most of these fares by later today, so shop around if you don’t find the fare you want.

>Based on what we’ve seen fare-wise this summer, these are some great deals. Sample roundtrip Southwest or AirTran fares from SFO/OAK/SJC include:

$100: Burbank, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario, Orange County, Reno, San Diego

$200: Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle

$280: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Houston

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Summer fare sale shockers

May 30, 2012

American's fare "sale?"

Have you checked out the latest round of summer fare “sales?”

I’m shocked! Not because fares are so low…but because the so-called fare “sale” rates are so…sky high.

Blame it on the high cost of fuel, declining capacity or increasing demand, but these fares hurt!

If you are planning to fly this summer, you better start saving now. Or start mapping out a summer road trip, which is looking more and more appealing with the price of gasoline declining.

A few examples of roundtrips from a “fare sale” trumpeted by American Airlines today:

SFO>St Louis: $538
SFO>Houston: $512
SFO>Ft Lauderdale: $480
SFO>Los Angeles (LAX): $186

Also today Virgin America trotted out a special introductory fare on flights to its newest airport, Washington National: $400 round trip! Ouch! And that’s only if you can fly on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday after August 14th. Those flying on other days will pay about $550 round trip. United, which just started flying nonstop between SFO and Washington National this month, is currently asking for a whopping $674 round trip for travel in late June. Double ouch!

Thinking about a July trip to Hawaii? Right now, you can’t find a seat on a nonstop for less than about $728 roundtrip between SFO, Oakland or San Jose and Honolulu.

Got some business to take care of in NYC? Get ready to pay up! Even in this hypercompetitive market, the lowest fares for nonstops from SFO in mid July are now in the $400-$500 range.

Thinking about Europe but you have not bought your ticket yet? Air France will fly you round trip between SFO and Paris nonstop for a mere $1,679 in July or August. Nonstops on United or Lufthansa to Frankfurt are now about $1500 round trip. How about SFO-London for a little pre-Olympics action in July? British Airways, United and Virgin Atlantic will get you there for about $1,400 round trip. If you would like to fly in for the Games, fares are $2,000+ for economy class round trips.

My best advice for those on a budget is to try and schedule your trips before about June 15, or after about August 24—a cheaper period outside the peak of the peak summer travel season. If your schedule can handle it, choose one-stop flights or red-eyes, which tend to be cheaper. Most times, you’ll find cheaper fares on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturdays.

Have you searched summer fares yet? Please provide any highs or lows (or onerous restrictions) you’ve found in the comments boxes below.

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Spring-Summer fare sales creep out

April 3, 2012

Virgin America's new San Francisco Giants bearded livery. Thoughts?

Some good news for travelers… but not such great news for the economy today…

Typically summer fare sales don’t start until AFTER Easter. But this week, and in the weeks leading up to it, we’ve seen airlines kicking off the summer fare sale season a little bit early.

That’s good news for travelers worried that high oil prices that could translate into higher ticket prices, which could put a crimp in their summer vacation plans.

But when airlines put fares on sale early, it’s a signal to me that advance bookings for the summer might be a little weak. To me, this means that consumer confidence is still waning as travelers take a “wait and see” approach to summer vacation.

For the most part, spring and summer fare sales so far have been fairly restrictive– for example, many require travel on slow days like Tuesdays or Wednesdays in order to get the lowest fares. Most sales only last for a few days. Plus, I’ve not seen too many sale fares that go deep into peak summer travel season– most up to this point have been good for trips into mid-June only. A quick scan of peak (July-August) fares still shows a few eye-poppers– with no sales so far during the summer peak.

Here are the details on the current crop of early summer fare sales– they are led by low fare carriers, but majors are matching these deals, too. (All sample fares below are for roundtrips and include all taxes and fees. These fares were available when I checked on the morning of April 3, but are subject to selling out.)

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VIRGIN AMERICA: In honor of its partnership with the San Francisco Giants and the newest member of its fleet taking to the skies this week (see the Giants-inspired “Fly Bye Baby” bearded aircraft above), Virgin America launched a “#flythebeard” fare sale. Sample roundtrip fares for travel through June 13 are: $160 to Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Diego or $280 round trip to New York. A special introductory fare of $218 to Portland is good for flights from June 5 through Oct 17. Sale expires April 5. Details.

JETBLUE has a great one-day sale that expires tonight at midnight tonight, but you can fly all the way through June 20. Not available on Fridays or Sundays. Sample sale fares from SFO: Long Beach $100. Austin $200; New York JFK $240 or to Boston or Ft Lauderdale for $280. Details

UNITED is offering round flights to Seattle for just $200; Austin for $249; Denver $278; Dallas Ft Worth or Newark for $320. Details.

SOUTHWEST is offering a 24-hour sale for flights to/from Chicago Midway. From SFO, you can fly for $287.50 round trip on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Saturdays through May 23. Details

Are these fares low enough to spur you into action, or are you going to wait and see what else might come along? Please leave your comments below!

Top 10 predictions for frequent travelers in 2011

December 21, 2010

Happy Holidays! It’s that time of year again…when travel pundits and prognosticators do their best to gaze into the future and predict what may or may not happen in the big wide world of travel in the coming year.

Here are The TICKET’s top ten predictions for frequent travelers in 2011:

1-RISING PRICES. Business travel prices will continue to rise, but not enough to dampen renewed demand.

2-AIRFARE. Fares will continue to rise sharply, especially for flights between cities where only one or two legacy carriers operate. From Atlanta, all you have to do is follow the route map of AirTran (and soon, Southwest) to know where the deals are (or aren’t). We do not expect much change in AirTran operations in 2011– 2012 will be the big year for full integration with Southwest. Also, prepare for more fuel surcharges as oil nears $100 per barrel– it’s currently about $89 and rising.

3-TRAVEL DEALS. In terms of travel deals, there will be a wider gap between peak season and off-season prices. Those with flexibility to travel outside the peak travel dates will continue to find good deals and more short-term “flash” type sales. (Think Jetsetter or Sniqueaway) Those who must travel during peak periods will face sticker shock. (Peak periods generally run when school is out: Holidays, long weekends, July and August.)

4-HOTEL RATES. Due to continued overcapacity, hotel rates should remain about the same or slightly up, on average, over the next year. Hotel rates in New York City will rise, but a steady supply of new hotels opening there should keep rate inflation to acceptable levels, especially among mid-tier properties.

5-FREE WI-FI. More upscale hotel chains will join their midscale counterparts to offer free in-room Wi-Fi. We’ll also see hoteliers pay more attention to bandwidth issues on their existing systems. What good is free Wi-Fi if it doesn’t work? In-flight Wi-Fi prices could moderate as Southwest’s $5 flat fee for inflight Wi-Fi expands to more flights.

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6-LONGER STAYS. Hotel chains will offer more loyalty program promotions designed to get travelers to increase the duration of their stays. (Such as “buy two nights, get the third free.”)

7-DRIVING VS. FLYING. Due to recent changes in security screening, the airport hassle factor could return, and more frequent travelers will consider driving instead of flying. The “five hour rule” might change to the “six hour rule.”

8-MOBILE DEVICES. We’ll see more focus on business travelers’ smart phones, which will soon be used to open hotel room doors and will be accepted as payment instead of credit cards. There will be more promotions designed to encourage the use of mobile devices to book and manage travel reservations

Old school Airfone

9-IN-FLIGHT PHONING. In-flight phone calling, now available on several non-U.S. airlines will become more prevalent and might even be considered by a domestic carrier. High per-call rates and peer pressure should keep abuse in check– remember those pricey GTE Airfones that no one ever used because they were too expensive? I expect the same with in-flight cell phone use.

10-MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS. More of us will attend large annual trade shows and conventions this year as pent up demand is released. Many companies banned non-essential travel over the last two years and business travelers are eager to get out of the office and re-establish face-to-face contact with customers and colleagues. However, I think small and medium-sized meetings will face more competition from virtual alternatives.

(ONE EXTRA PREDICTION: 11- Better airline coverage in The TICKET! We’ve brought on a new airline correspondent, Ramsey Qubein! Ramsey, a Diamond Medallion on Delta, has been enhancing our airline coverage with great insider news and tips over the last month. Stay tuned for more from him and The TICKET in 2011.)

New: United’s sweet 50,000-mile bonus is back

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