Where are airfares headed in 2009? If we knew, trust us, we would not be sitting here. No siree, we'd be sitting on the terrace of our beachfront villa on St. Barts, sipping fancy drinks adorned with colorful umbrellas. We'd have flown there in our Gulfstream V (no commercial flights for us!). Yep, we would have retired a looooong time ago. Gone native. Flown the coop.

Because if we knew where airfares were heading, we'd also know exactly where oil prices are headed, and we would be playing on the New York Mercantile Exchange. We'd also know where the economy in general was headed. And we'd also be able to read the minds of airline executives, who haven't proven themselves to be the most rational businessmen since the dawn of commercial aviation.

The vagaries of airline pricing haven't prevented other airfare gurus from taking stabs at price predictions. I guess it's one way to grab headlines. In fact, one such guru was quoted in the same week predicting that fares would go both up and down. How's that for hedging one's bets.

In an AP story last week, this expert was quoted as saying, "Don't expect lower fuel prices to lower domestic airfares" and predicted "stable high prices for domestic airfares. We had 30 airfare hikes between the summer of '07 and '08, which raised the price point 20 to 40 percent. I think that price point will stay stable in 2009."

But the very same week, we saw a different angle on Businessweek.com.

The reporter spoke with "the two most prominent airfare 'gurus' " (hey, Tracy and I thought we were that!) and both predicted that fares through the first half of 2009 will yield a bonanza of bargains for travelers. The same expert quoted in the AP story above predicts we will see the "holy grail" of $99 fares cross-country again, with many trans-continental routes currently selling for $109 each way.  But wait a sec: $99 one-way cross country fares were available, off and on, throughout 2008; we saw $69 and $79 one-way transcon fares on some routes.

So which is it? Don't expect lower domestic fares, or expect a bonanza of $99 bargains? Truth is, no one really knows. Our crystal ball is in the repair shop and our turban is at the dry cleaner.

Helsinki is featured in today's SAS "24 Days of Christmas" sale. Off the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea lays Helsinki, the capital and largest city in Finland. There is plenty to see and so in this vibrant European destination.

From catching an ice hockey or soccer game to visiting their well known art scene. Helsinki even hosts a major art festival each summer. So take a look at some of the fares I came across and you may be visiting the site of the 1953 Summer Olympics this winter or spring for less.

All fares are round trip with taxes and fees included (The competition's fare is in parenthesis):

* Tue 01/27 - Tue 02/03: Newark (EWR), $850 1 stop (Finnair (JFK) $680 nonstop)

* Sun 02/22 - Sun 03/01: Washington (IAD), $587 2 stops (Swiss $893 1 stop)

* Sun 03/08 - Sun 03/15: Seattle (SEA), $1,020 1 stop (United $1,026 1 stop)

* Thu 04/16 - Thur 04/23: Chicago (ORD), $967 2 stops (American $1,007 2 stops)

I checked various dates and in the case of New York area, Finnair was the best choice through JFK airport. But if you prefer Newark, then SAS is your best option. In the other three cities it varied, but SAS more often was lower than the competition's price.

You must book by tonight to lock in these prices. To receive these advertised fares, you must travel between December 26, 2008 and May 14, 2009. Blackout dates are April 2, 2009 and April 19, 2009. For more information about these fares and other, go to Scandinavian Airlines.

United Airlines seems to be offeriing just as many perks promotions as they are airfare sales these days. In the last few weeks United has offered door-to-door luggage service, extra leg room and now they will let you skip the long lines at check in with "Premier Line". This new feature "starts at" $25. Some features include:

* Premier check-in line.

* Priority security line.

* Priority boarding (Seating Area 1).

For more information on this United feature, check out United.com.

You have until December 31 to take advantage of some low deals being offered through Singapore Airlines. Plenty of cities are offered through this sale. Below is just a small sampling of some of the low fares I found online (roundtrip with taxes and fees included). In parenthesis is competition's price.

* Sun 03/22 - Sun 03/28: New York (JFK)-Frankfurt (FRA): $498 nonstop (Czech $520 1 stop)

* Sun 02/15 - Sun 02/22: Houston (IAH)-Singapore (SIN): $1,122 1 stop (Orbitz $1,114 1 stop)

* Thu 02/05 - Thu 02/12: Los Angeles (LAX) - Tokyo (NRT): $837 nonstop (Asiana $903 1 stop)

Again you must book by December 31, 2008. Travel is good until March 31, 2009 with outbound blackout dates of January 1, 2009-January 11,2009 and inbound blackout dates of December 24, 2008-January 3, 2009. For full terms and conditions check out Singapore Airlines.

Until midnight  ET Dec 22, Spirit Airlines is offering up to $35 off roundtrips. Enter SAVE35 (all caps, no spaces) in the Promotion Code box on the

when booking your flight to save $35* off your roundtrip purchase for travel from January 5, 2009 through November 11, 2009. $9 Fare Club members will receive the full $35 off, non-members will receive $17 off. Everyone always gets $5 off each way when booking on Spirit's site (except to/from Detroit).

For the 21st day of the "24 days of Christmas" promotion at Scandinavian Airlines, the Lithuanian city of Vilnius is on sale...but SAS does not always come through with the cheapest price.

Here are some sample fares with the competition's price in parenthesis.

* Thu Jan 29 - Thu Feb 05: Newark (EWR) $882 w. 1 stop (Aeroflot $677 w. 1 stop)

* Sat Feb 07 -Sat Feb 14: Seattle (SEA) $934 w. 1 stop (Orbitz $921 w. 2 stops)

* Sun Mar 01 - Sun Mar 08: Chicago (ORD) $835 w. 1 stop (LOT Polish Air $785 w. 1 stop)

* Sun Mar 22 - Sat Mar 28: Washington (IAD) $678 w. 1 stop (Orbitz $763 w. 1 stop)

You must book by tonight to lock in these prices. To receive these advertised fares, you must travel between December 26, 2008 and May 14, 2009. Blackout dates are April 2, 2009 and April 19, 2009. For more information about these fares and other, go to Scandinavian Airlines.

Day 20 of Scandinavian Airlines' "24 Days of Christmas" features a lesser known city in Norway called Stavanger. This beautiful city is the 4th largest city in Norway, with a population of only 120,798. This year Stavanger, along with Liverpool, England, was chosen as a 2008 European Capital of Culture. Over the last 12 months this relatively unknown European city was given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development.This eventually brings in the tourist dollars.

You will have plenty to do and see while visiting Stavanger. The locals enjoy attending a soccer game at Viking Stadium, listening to rock music at a local bar and hiking a nearby inlet like Lysefjorden (pictured above). The city centre is very cozy and offers tourist a break from car traffic due to its small and narrow streets. A nice treat is to stop by one of the open-air vegetable markets, one of the few in Norway, and buy directly from the farmers.

Here are some deals I found on their website. In parenthesis are the competition's price.

* Thu Jan 08 - Thu Jan 15: Newark (EWR) $789 w. 1 stop (Lufthansa $907 w. 1 stop)

* Wed Feb 04 - Wed Feb 11: Chicago (ORD) $529 w. 2 stops (Orbitz $625 w. 2 stops)

* Tue Mar 03 - Tue Mar 10: Washington (IAD) $543 w. 2 stops (Cheaptickets $619 w. 2 stops)

* Wed May 06 - Wed May 13: Seattle (SEA) $637 w. 1 stop (Northwest $961 w. 1 stop)

You must book by tonight to lock in these prices. To receive these advertised fares, you must travel between December 26, 2008 and May 14, 2009. Blackout dates are April 2, 2009 and April 19, 2009. For more information about these fares and other, go to Scandinavian Airlines.

What an awful day for travelers in the Northeast. I should know, I am one of them. My plans to get out of town were axed when the snow started coming down this morning. I am not alone, as well over 500 flights were canceled at all three New York area airports today as a storm that was predicted to drop as much as 5-6 inches of snow on the city and even more in the suburbs swept through the region.

Many people were planning on getting a head start on next week's Christmas travel madness by leaving today, but now find themselves instead sitting in their local airports. The snow began falling at about 10 a.m. in Manhattan and turned into a snowy/rain mixture by 12-1 p.m. The National Weather Service predicts that the snow will turn into sleet by Friday afternoon and become mostly icy rain by this evening.

Newark Liberty International Airport has reported close to 400 canceled flights for today with the remainder delayed up to 5 hours. Other airports that have seen cancellations include Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago area airports. 

The storm's next stop? Connecticut and Massachusetts, where the weather service predicts a snow fall of up to 14 inches. New York however isn't out of the woods just yet, as another storm is predicted for both Saturday and Sunday.

As always simply call your airport before you leave this weekend to check on your flight's status. To stay up to date on this storm head on over to the National Weather Service. Safe travels!

You have until this Wednesday December (Christmas Eve) to take advantage of T-Mobile's promotion in which they will give you a free companion fare for just signing a 2 year contract with their service.

The companion ticket is good until February 15, 2010, has no blackout dates and both new and existing customers qualify.

For more information check out T-Mobile.

Copenhagen is featured on day 19 of Scandinavian Airline's "24 Days of Christmas" holiday sale. Denmark's capital city has been nicknamed "The Paris of the North" because of its high end fashion, design and beauty. So why not book a trip in the new year and explore this amazing city.

Here are some sample fares found on their website. In parenthesis is the competition's price. These fares are all round trip with taxes and fees included.

* Fri Jan 30 - Fri Feb 06: Newark (EWR), $615 nonstop (United $679, 1 stop)

* Sun Mar 01 - Sun Mar 08: Chicago (ORD), $496 1 stop (Continental $566, 1 stop)

* Sat Apr 25 - Sat May 02: Seattle (SEA), $616 nonstop (Continental $1,082, 1 stop)

* Wed May 06 - Wed May 13: Washington (IAD), $368 1 stop (Orbitz $832, 2 stops)

You must book by tonight to lock in these prices. To receive these advertised fares, you must travel between December 26, 2008 and May 14, 2009. Blackout dates are April 2, 2009 and April 19, 2009. For more information about these fares and other, go to Scandinavian Airlines.