Airlines cut fall fares once again
— -- Passengers can get an off-peak, one-way fare on some AirTran flights for as low as $39 for travel through Dec. 16. Southwest is offering trips for as low as $49 on some flights taken from Aug. 18 through Nov. 18.
Other major airlines have matched many of the Southwest and AirTran fares. Like nearly all airfare sales, the new fares the airlines are offering come with restrictions. The low prices don't apply to all flights on all days to all destinations, and some have blackout dates.
The flurry of discounts signals that airlines are in a furious competition to fill seats this fall as they try to stay afloat in the midst of an economic slump that has forced the industry to slash flights and jobs, travel experts say. On Tuesday, for instance, US Airways said it would be cutting roughly 600 airport positions in the fall.
"The airlines need to start focusing on filling up those seats for the fall because the market is going to be soft," says Tom Parsons, CEO of Bestfares.com, which monitors air travel. "The only question when this sale is over is how many hours you have to wait for the next one. … It's going to be non-stop."
The Southwest sale doesn't include the rock-bottom $30 price it offered on some flights last week. But it gives passengers until July 30 to buy them instead of two days. Travelers on AirTran have through July 28 to take advantage of the new prices.
Southwest says the new sale is more typical of what it has offered in past years to boost travel during the traditionally slow fall season.
"The $30 (sale) was a real departure," spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger says of last week's two-day sale. "This is something we typically do. It's a large window and ends before Thanksgiving, but gives customers an opportunity to get a discount on fares going into the fall period when air travel is typically a lot lower."
