Air Travel getting cheaper

[Kathryn41 3,205]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/?nav=pfhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...lestate/?nav=pf

Downturn Puts Air Travelers on Cloud Nine

Airlines Slash Fares in Response To Drop-off in Business, Leisure Trips

By Sholnn Freeman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, March 14, 2009; A01

An airfare war has broken out in recent weeks -- a boon for anyone with money to travel.

Airlines have rushed out coast-to-coast travel deals for as little as $99 each way for the spring and summer as the economic downturn has taken hold. Continental Airlines and United Airlines, fighting it out on routes between Washington and Los Angeles, have priced round-trip tickets under $200. Airlines in recent weeks have cut ticket prices as much as 50 percent from a year ago, travel analysts say.

"If you are paying over $300 for an airline ticket right now, you are probably paying way too much," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. "We'll never see these prices again outside of a recession."

The fare war comes as American companies scale back business travel and skittish consumers put off vacation plans, putting new pressure on airlines that only a year ago were fighting high fuel costs.

In addition to lower fares for domestic flights, international travel has suddenly become cheaper, with many round-trip tickets to Europe priced at less than $500 for travel in April and May.

Yet some travel analysts are skeptical that travelers will buy, even at those prices.

"I think people's interest in buying those fares are heading downward," said George Hobica, creator of AirfareWatchdog.com. "With 600,000 or 700,000 people losing their jobs every month, they are asking themselves, 'Can I really afford this?' "

Airlines began the year thinking the passenger market wouldn't be so bad. Many had spent 2008 cutting less profitable routes and scaling back the number of flights, giving them more room to boost prices on the seats that remained.

Operationally, flight cutbacks mean fewer planes stacking up at airports, alleviating congestion. The government has reported that airline on-time rates are at their best level in years, even at busy New York airports.

Though airlines have been aided by lower fuel prices and the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, the cratering economy has dashed hopes of fat profits. Globally, airlines are projected to lose $2.5 billion in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines began offering discounted fares in October after Wall Street banks began to buckle, grounding bankers and other financial executives who paid top dollar for transatlantic tickets. The steady stream of price cuts continued over the winter holidays. Now the discounting is spreading into the spring and summer -- historically the strongest profit period for airlines as travelers take vacations.

"This is a major war," said Tom Parsons, chief executive of BestFares.com, a discount travel Web site. "We never expected airfares like this in June or July of last year. We would have expected air fares double this."

Southwest Airlines, which has a hub at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, has cut fares to $78 round trip (with $20 security fee) for nonstop travel from Baltimore to Albany and Buffalo, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Hartford, Conn.; Manchester, N.H.; Cleveland; Norfolk; and Raleigh, N.C.

Fares to Europe have also fallen sharply. A year ago, a flight from Washington to Paris would have cost about $815 with taxes and fees, according to a price check by BestFares.com. Today, a round-trip ticket on United for travel in May costs about $570. Prices on flights to London are also falling. United and British Airways are promoting fares of $510 for travel in May.

Hobica warns that summer nonstop international flights from Washington airports still remain pricey compared with other international gateways such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. But he said prices are generally $200 lower than a year ago.

Americans traveling abroad are getting a big lift from the rising buying power of the dollar. The dollar's value has grown 27 percent against the euro and 40 percent against the British pound from last summer.

For the best deals, analysts say travelers should first look for midweek flights. And even with the sales, they should be aware that the best deals probably won't be available for Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July. They are cautioning that travelers should pack light because most airlines charge baggage fees that they didn't have a year ago.

And travelers with job worries need not stay home. The airlines are trying to be helpful. JetBlue, whose passenger traffic fell 8.3 percent last month, is offering refunds for ticketholders who are terminated from full-time jobs. Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, said the airline won't report how many people have asked for their money back. But he notes that the deal "came at just the right time" for many customers.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[Nagishkaw 510]

Good news!

[gabby4ever 1]

i think thats bogus, cause im trying to buy a ticket right now and it nowhere near 200...its over 350....and to europe cant find anything under 1300 so....they dont know what they're talking about.........

[Reba 2]

or you're just not looking in the right place...

My Mum got herself a ticket to come down to visit next month. She said its less than half what she paid when she came down last summer to visit.

I just need to renew my passport, so that I can go up home for a visit this summer. Hopefully for Canada Day, and I can have some back bacon! I miss bacon. *sigh*

I also had a craving the other day for Montreal smoked meat, so I may have to take the train down to Montreal for a day or two

Edited March 14, 2009 by Reba

[gabby4ever 1]

well, ive been looking on orbitz, expedia, travelocity and them....almost the same price as last summer....

if anybody know another website that they buy tickets from, please put it in here...other than that, like i said, ive been checking the same websites i checked almost a year ago.....

ive also been looking for a ticket from louisiana to florida and cant find anything under 350..........i dont know where else to look.....

[MsMariah 0]

Must be highly dependent on where you are traveling because it's certainly not cheaper to Jordan.

[Desire019 0]

i think thats bogus, cause im trying to buy a ticket right now and it nowhere near 200...its over 350....and to europe cant find anything under 1300 so....they dont know what they're talking about.........

try yutravel.com i awlays buy my tickets from them and most of the time it adds up to areound $700 after taxes to europe and that is round trip. for some reason they now canged their website and it would not give you a quote online butcall them up the lady that awlays take care ofme her name is Sonya. Iam aboutto but a ticket for my husband fromher. they do have thebest deals from what i have experianced

[Cassie 8]

My parents got round trip tickets from Nova Scotia to here for $1000 Canadian total (taxes and all) -- excellent price for us! It helped they were willing to travel the middle of the week. I am subscribed to a couple of different airlines and the seat sales I have been seeing are quite good.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Los Angeles to Manila looking good for $1000 total.

[fozzie 41]

It all depends on the route and the time you are going.

I have just bought tickets from NY to London for $500 each from Virgin. I recommend going to the carrier websites directly as not all deals are advertised. Also consider your travel dates. Midweek to midweek are better for airfares but a friday departure usually allows people the extra weekend away for the same number of vacation days from work (and therefore more expensive).

My wife just tried to book tickets to Austin Texas from NYC for next weekend but they are $1000 anyway you look at it. She want to go just in case she wis tickets to a Metallica event, not even for that price (she go to Europe and watch several shows in several cities for that).

In europe we have Ryan Air and Easy Jet which offer ridiculous deals for as little as the tax ($30) between major european cities. However we will be in England at the end of May and wanted to fly to Italy for part of the trip but Ryan Air are charging about $600 for the flights to Rome. Why? Because there is a Major sporting event (The European Champions League Final) being staged in Rome. Crazy, we are now going to fly into Pisa and take the train down.

The point is the cheap flights are out there but you need to know what affects the price. I signed up for Airfare watchdog and get 2 emails a day that tell me great deals and where to go to get them.

[KikuyuLove 0]

I went from Washington to Frankfurt at Christmas for $600 USD on United. But the kicker is joining up the frequent flyer programs and it has paid off several times including upgrades paid and free to Business or once to First. I got upgraded both ways for free to business on a cheap ticket I got on Kayak.com. The front of the plane was about half full but coach was packed. So, the FFP got me bumped up by just asking. I went back to see my SO at the end of February and the plane (a Boeing "Super 7") was only about 40% full. Using FFP miles cost under $170 IAD-FRA! Don't forget the hotels do similar things for free nights too.

It is obvious that demand has falling into the toilet since the winter but the airlines are taking the hit to move those planes because of regulations and some leg that aircraft flies is still full enough to make the trip barely profitable. If things don't pick up soon I would expect routes to be reduced to fill fewer planes and drive the prices up if the summer rush doesn't happen.

[NickD 202]

So why didn't the price of a ticket come down with the same proportion as the price of jet fuel? They raised the ticket price just on the premise that fuel prices would be increasing but keep them up there even months after that cost dropped substantially.

[HAL 9000 96]

Yeah still waiting to see those savings out of Chicago on dates we can actually get away.

[SuperDuper! 230]

So why didn't the price of a ticket come down with the same proportion as the price of jet fuel? They raised the ticket price just on the premise that fuel prices would be increasing but keep them up there even months after that cost dropped substantially.

Airline Co's "hedge" their fuel costs, meaning they lock in prices for fuel to be delivered, sometimes far into the future. Cathay Pacific got into trouble this quarter and made big losses because they hedged wrong and signed long-term fuel futures contracts at high prices. So I guess they are still paying 4 dollarsUSD per gallon

In the US, a Co called SouthWest airlines is usually very smart with their futures contracts and locks in low prices, even when oil prices are very high. Cheers.