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Posted by
Tracy Stewart on Thursday, October 09, 2008 at 3:33 PM to
Airline Industry News, Airfare Tips
It's been a zany day for fare finding here at Airfarewatchdog headquarters. The culprit? Wishy-washy fares on Travelocity. What appeared to be some pretty terrific fares from Northwest this morning made quite a leap in price whenever we attempted to actually book anything. And this afternoon, we're seeing the same thing from American Airlines. For example, Los Angeles to Wichita has a base fare of $224 round-trip, but try and book it and you’ll see it jump to $294 after taxes and fees. We even saw a $344 base fare jump to $485. Obviously, taxes and Travelocity fees don't quite explain all of that mystery number. Is there a new secret fee they aren't telling folks about? Whatever is afoot, be wary of whatever amazingly low fares should appear in your search results on Travelocity today. Save the oohs and ahhhs until you see that final number at booking time.
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Posted by
Tracy Stewart on Thursday, October 09, 2008 at 10:01 AM to
Airfare Tips
Remember when we asked you guys for tips on keeping the kids in check during those long holiday flights? Well, you had a ton of great advice. We've narrowed down the best of your tips below, so read up:
1. Have a discussion on expected behavior prior to the trip, as well as a little refresher before boarding.
2. A bag stuffed with essential treats. In our case, that would be Teddy Grahams.
3. Pack plenty of books, stickers, paper, crayons, magazines, and anything else that can be read, or incorporated into an easy mess-free craft project. Remember, obviously, no scissors.
4. Fresh out of craft ideas? Here's an easy one! Bring a fine point Sharpie marker and allow your children to - just this once - add moustaches to all the faces in the in-flight magazine. Or blackened teeth. Or both! Hey, go wild (quietly, and to yourself)!
5. Three words: Portable. DVD. Player.
6. Fly a kid friendly airline like Frontier, JetBlue, or Virgin with seat-back televisions. There's almost always a channel with children's programming.
7. Request a window seat so your child can look out and lean at will without disturbing other passengers.
8. Never do early boarding. The less time on board, the better. Sitting around, twiddling thumbs (or using up all your games and activities before you even take off) while you wait for the plane to fill up will probably take longer than you think.
9. Don't hand out all the toys at once. Conserve what's out and for as long as you can. Who knows? You might not even make it through the entire bag of tricks, which can be a real bonus on the trip home.
10. For smaller children (under one year), try using a Boppy pillow on your lap, to fill that scary gap between your lap and the seat in front of you.
11. For the slightly older kids, who may potentially taunt one another: Pay them off! $5 an hour, $1, a quarter, whatever you think sounds about right. Personally, my mother would clutch her pearls at the suggestion that she pay her children to behave, but hey. I'm certainly not above it. Says the person who suggested that one, "We used this trick when going to Disneyworld, and they only lost one hour's worth of bribes.” See?
12. Let them stay up a little later the night before the flight, or wake up very early the day of. Once onboard, bring blankets and pillows and let them catch up on sleep.
13. Still in the sippy cup years? When the beverage cart comes 'round your way, ask the flight attendant to fill up those sippy cups instead of plastic cups that tend to spill.
14. See other children acting up on your flight? Remember to thank your own for not doing that, and for setting a good example.
15. If all else fails, and your child cries excessively or rubs an open pudding cup into your seat mate's face or something horrible, bring along little I'm-sorry gifts to "bribe"/"win over" your fellow passengers. A $5 Starbucks card, a box of chocolates, etc.
Have a tip of your own to share? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Posted by
Jonathan Weinberg on Thursday, October 09, 2008 at 9:57 AM to
Domestic US Fares
American Airlines is running a sale on flights to New York City. Save $10 on a roundtrip ticket when you book through this link on AA.com.
This deal requires a 7-day advance purchase, and a 3-day minimum stay. Travel is valid through December 10, 2008, and fares are not valid November 22, 25-26, 29-30 and December 1, 2008.
To take advantage of this deal, you must purchase your tickets by October 15th.
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Posted by
Andrea Bennett on Monday, October 06, 2008 at 6:29 PM to
Airfare Tips
By Andrea Bennett
Part one of a two part article
They're elusive. The airlines don't like to talk about them (we asked). And determining their legitimacy from among the myriad websites that claim to specialize in them is a Herculean task. We're talking about consolidator fares, those secret airfares the airlines release in limited "buckets" to companies that re-sell them for big. Yes, they do still exist and you can get them, but as with any purchase (such as “grey market” electronics), you'll always trade something for the price break. There are reliable ways to get them, just as there are ways to get burned. And just because they're specially negotiated deals doesn't mean you might not be able to find a better published fare on your own.
The Backstory
To understand what consolidator fares mean today, you'll need a little history. Decades ago, it became clear to airlines that only selling highly visible, published airfares to travel agents and consumers made it easy for competing airlines to beat their fares and make off with their customers. To ensure they could fill up less popular flights, airlines began quietly selling discounted seats through consolidators. They reasoned that a little revenue per seat was better than none, and because the discounted prices weren’t published, other airlines wouldn’t be able to swoop in and drive down overall prices. You’d often find these fire sale fares in ethnic storefront travel agencies or even bodegas, which offered them only sporadically. According to Bob Harrell of New York airline consultancy Harrell Associates, the airlines employed plenty of tactics to get around pre-deregulation rules about tariffs, which required large numbers of seats sold this way to be part of a tourism promotion. “They’d print up five brochures, pass them around, and call it a tour,” he says.
Consolidators Today
Consolidators have come a long way since those early, often risky times. Airlines now see consolidators as a reliable distribution channel, negotiating annual contracts with them, establishing revenue targets, and tightly controlling ticket sales through a specific kind of booking class, or “bucket.” If you were wondering, consolidators and bucket shops are essentially the same thing, though the name, like the practice, has been refined over time. The fares are also known as “private” and “bulk” fares. But for the record, not every unpublished fare is a consolidator fare; military discounts, corporate discounts, and other specially negotiated fares – such as cruise and package fares – are also considered “unpublished” and are almost never consolidator fares.
We talked to Greg Rholl, Vice President of Pricing and Distribution for Minnesota consolidator Centrav, one of the largest consolidators, with contracts with more than 30 airlines, who ran us through the process: A consolidator will have a contract to sell private fares at a lower price than the published fare. If there’s a printed ticket, only “bulk” generally appears on the receipt. They generally can’t – or won’t - sell the ticket straight to you, but will offer it through a travel agent (including an online travel agent such as Travelocity or Expedia), or agencies such as the ones that advertise in Sunday newspaper travel sections. The agent adds their markup – keeping the margin slim so they’re not out-priced by published fares – and passes the remaining savings on to you. True consolidators don’t buy in quantity or ahead of time. Rather, they pull availability from their assigned class until the airline decides to close the window. It can be a great way to find a fluke fare, and consolidators now keep each other honest. Centrav, for instance, is a charter member of the United States Air Consolidators Association, which requires that its members sell at least $20 million in consolidator fares and have uninterrupted sales of at least two years. This may not mean much to you, since you can’t buy tickets from the USACA, but it should: If your trusted travel agent chooses a dicey consolidator that reneges on the deal or goes under, you’ll be relying on your credit card or your agent’s integrity to buffer you from the loss.
In the second half of this article, the best ways to shop for consolidator tickets
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Posted by
George Hobica on Saturday, October 04, 2008 at 11:05 AM to
Especially in these tough economic times, it's more important than ever to save money on airfare. That's where Airfarewatchdog's free airfare widget and RSS feeds come in. Over 40 US Airports now use them on their Web sites to show potential passengers that there are indeed low airfares if you know how to find them.
And now, we're noticing that hotels and resorts are adding the widget to their web site's home pages. Makes sense: show potential guests low airfares to your local airport(s) and you're more likely to fill up rooms. See how the Marco Island Marriott Resort and Spa is showing guests low fares into Ft. Myers, FL.
The latest airport to get on the widget bandwagon is Spokane International.
And if you're running a convention or other meeting, why not show attendees low fares into the convention city? That's what PMA is doing. The Photo Marketing Association is holding its 2009 convention in Las Vegas, so, wisely, they're displaying the widget on their web site. Frankly, we're at a loss to understand why everyone doesn't do this! OK, if you're not using our fares to display, then use one of those other fare listing sites. Oh, right, they don't have Southwest or Allegiant fares, so not such a good idea. But they're beter than nothing!
Learn more about the widget and RSS feeds and get your very own right here.
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Posted by
Jonathan Weinberg on Friday, October 03, 2008 at 6:38 AM to
Airline Industry News
Minneapolis based Sun Country Airlines, fighting to survive a cash crunch, has warned its employees to prepare for the possibility of major layoffs, or a shutdown of the airline, as early as Dec. 1.
SunCountry is struggling to survive until the heavy winter travel season when it expects to turn a profit, but in the meantime they are taking drastic actions, including a 50 percent pay deferral for employees to improve their cash position.
SunCountry was looking for a short-term loan from its owner, Tom Petters, to address the cash shortage issue but Petters, the airline's majority shareholder, resigned as CEO of Petters Group Worldwide Monday because he is the target of a major federal fraud investigation. While this is unrelated to SunCountry's business, it looks like Mr. Petters has his hands full with "other matters", so SunCountry will have to see financing elsewhere, which is none too easy in the credit crunch the country is experiencing currently.
Will SunCountry ultimately survive? It's still too early to tell, but clearly this is an ominous sign. One thing is for sure... They certainly won't be the last airline to run into trouble in this difficult economy.
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Posted by
George Hobica on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 9:24 PM to
Airline Industry News
When Delta merges operations with Northwest later this year, it's unlikely that the combined airline will operate six hubs, especially since some of them are relatively close to each other.
Which ones will go? Atlanta or Memphis? Detroit, Cincinnati or Minneapolis? Will they keep Salt Lake City? Whatever happens, Norwelta will cut some routes, and there will be room for other airlines to nose into these hubs, and Southwest, not surprisingly, is the first to make a move. Beginning in March, the Dallas-based low cost carrier will begin service between Chicago Midway and MSP, which will bring low cost connecting service to cities Southwest serves from Midway. Minneapolis desperately needs another low cost airline, especially if Sun Country, which is experiencing financial difficulties, doesn't survive.
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Posted by
Tracy Stewart on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 12:21 PM to
Airfare Tips
Ok, so as we've established, carting the kids along on your travels can be a little bit of a headache. At least the getting-there part of the trip. There's the unavoidable sippy cup mishaps, the disapproving glares from other passengers, and -for the solo travelers - the seat kicking, and (everyone's fave) the crying. So, how can parents and passengers survive the upcoming holiday travel blitz, minus the headaches? Minus the crying? How do you keep your little angels in check on those long dull flights? What's your smooth operator approach to handling junior seat kickers? Share your parenting travel tips, tales, and advice with us below! And maybe your wise words will be of use to other folks flying with/alongside the kiddies this season.
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Posted by
Bo Borre on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 6:43 AM to
Europe/Africa/Middle East Airfares
10/7 Update: The discount coupon code has changed to ENEWS10387.
More than JetBlue can play at this ten percent promo game and now Air France has timed their own offer to take advantage of the whole Alitalia debacle. By using the ENEWS10373 coupon code when booking on the airline web site, you can shave 10% off the current October Italy Specials.
While the coupon is valid through October 21, the sale ends on October 2, so this is no time to dither, but please read the note and tiny print below before you run off. Also be sure to compare prices elsewhere before you commit to anything, because even with the discount applied these may not be the best deals available.
As we mentioned numerous times over the summer on this blog, fares to Italy have been unusually competitive this year with Alitalia cutting back and competitors like Air One, American, Eurofly, and Iberia only too happy to pick up the slack. Even as Air One shuts down their nonstop Boston-Milan route next week after less than 6 months, they continue to offer good deals through their Chicago gateway or in cooperation with United through Washington.
Coupon is valid for Air France marketed and operated flights, valid for new purchases and will not apply to existing bookings. Coupon is redeemable for tickets issued on www.airfrance.us. Coupon is valid for flights departing from the USA and arriving in Italy. Coupon is valid for departures October 1 through November 30 and with return dates October 2 through December 30, 2008. Coupon applies to reservations in Tempo (Economy Class) and is limited to one usage per customer; stock is limited.
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Posted by
George Hobica on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 5:58 PM to
Airline Industry News
As most industries mature, and certainly the airline industry has been around a long time, consolidation ensues. But that's not the case with airlines. Instead, each year the industry becomes more fragmented. Anyone with a few million and the necessary paperwork can start an airline. And so they do.
Imagine if there were 30 steel companies in the US.
What is it about consolidation that airlines hate so much? Why do entrepreneurs launch new airlines when most start ups are doomed to fail and the industry is not profitable?
Almost any economist will tell you that the world has too many airlines chasing (especially now) too little traffic. Every little podunk country has its own flag carrier, even if it makes no economic sense. Every year it seems, there's a new SkyBus or Independence Air, Zoom, EOS, MaxJet, or Express Jet, and every year, there's one (or more) fewer, lost not to consolidation but to liquidation.
You'd think, with the cost of jet fuel and fewer passengers, that airlines all over the world would be jumping at the chance to combine. Of course, some are: Delta and Northwest should be united by the end of the year, and overseas, we've seen British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France buy other large and small carriers.
Truth is, consolidation isn't as easy as it might appear. First, there are government regulations. In order for two US legacy airlines to combine, the US government is going to first make sure that the new carrier doesn't have an overwhelming market share. So American cannot combine with, say, United because the combined entity would have over 30 percent of US market share and that would be very anti-competitive. As a result, some experts say, it's possible that we might see a smaller legacy carrier, such as US Air, intentionally shrink in size in order to combine with a larger airline. But shrinking, and remaining in business, is a tricky business.
Plus, the US has laws preventing a foreign carrier, such as British Airways, from owning more than 25% of a US carrier.
Then there are labor issues, mainly pilot seniority. Pilots are loathe to give up the pay and perks associated with seniority and if one airline merges with another, a captain at one airline might become a first officer at the combined carrier. Pilots hate that sort of thing.
And then there's the mystique issue. "Airlines are such a sexy business investors can't resist it," writes Victor J. Cook of Tulane's A.B. Freeman School of Business in a June 2008 paper. Every country wants its own. Guys just like to run airlines. Even Donald Trump got in the game when Eastern went belly up back in the late eighties.
And now that oil prices have come down, there's less urge to merge.
Even so, during a panel discussion at the recent ACI-NA (Airports Council International North America) annual convention in Boston, most experts opined that further consolidation is both inevitable and desirable, and rules prohibiting foreign ownership of US airlines should be revisited.
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