Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Business / Technology


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Friday, October 31, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Comments (0)     E-mail article     Print view

Airlines delivering gifts of lower holiday fares

When it comes to holiday travel plans, good things may come to those who waited. The major U.S. airlines have cut many fares for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

The Associated Press

DALLAS — When it comes to holiday travel plans, good things may come to those who waited.

The major U.S. airlines have cut many fares for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

The airlines, enduring their worst year since at least 2005, may see the price-cutting as necessary in a slumping economy that could cut into both leisure and business travel. Airfare experts say they typically don't see this kind of price-cutting until the last couple of weeks before big holidays.

Northwest Airlines started the rush Tuesday night with a broad holiday fare sale, and most other major carriers matched the prices Wednesday, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of Web site FareCompare.com.

"It's by far the most broad-based fare sale we've tracked in at least 18 months," Seaney said Thursday, "and this is the earliest I've ever seen one."

Tom Parsons, chief executive of discount-travel site Bestfares.com, said in many cases travelers can still find better deals by shopping around and considering alternate airports.

"I've been looking for this sale for two or three weeks," Parsons said. "When I finally saw it, it was kind of a letdown."

Parsons said the cuts ranged up to 25 percent off for tickets bought 21 or 30 days ahead of travel. He said travelers using secondary airports that typically have higher prices will get the biggest breaks.

But there are cheaper fares on routes where the big airlines compete with low-cost carriers such as Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran, he said.

Some of the fares have blackout dates on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 — the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving — and Dec. 20. And there are only a handful of "super off-peak" days, as Northwest calls them.

Some of the cuts are dramatic. Delta shaved the cheapest price for an Atlanta-Nashville, Tenn., round trip around Thanksgiving from nearly $500 to $238, Seaney said. The cheapest Minneapolis-Seattle flight is $248.

In most cases, the prices are good until at least late November.

advertising

Airlines raised fares and fuel surcharges sharply last year and early this year but stopped when the economy slowed noticeably. The last broad fare increase was in early July, Seaney said.

Carriers would rather not be cutting prices now, but demand may be slowing faster than airlines can reduce the supply of available seats.

Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said this month that because of the economic slowdown, "the world has changed" and there is no guarantee about future booking trends.

"We know that fares are higher compared to a year ago," Kelly told analysts. "We know the economy is in a complete recession ... we've got to be prepared for a weak economy and weaker demand, which I think is destined to happen."

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

More Business & Technology headlines...

E-mail article Print view      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

Comments
No comments have been posted to this article.

An 802.11n upgrade could make a big difference

Retailers opening doors on Thanksgiving Day

Google makes concessions on digital book deal

Critics want to block Comcast-NBC deal

Google submits revised book settlement

Advertising

Video

Girls Soccer: Mercer Island vs. Glacier Peak
Mercer Island defeats Glacier Peak, 2-1, in a 3A state playoff quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Smash Putt! Miniature Golf
Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Video shows violent arrest by SPD
Fort Lewis Memorial
Highlights: Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Seattle International Cabaret Festival
Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Medal of Honor
Pelosi answers questions at Swedish Medical Center

Marketplace

nwautos

2009's most fuel-efficient sedansnew
Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising