Thank you for subscribing!
Got it! Thank you!

Frommers.com Airfare Deals and News for the Week of July 12, 2006

We've rounded up the most current fare sales plus the latest news.

ATA's Terrific Fare Sale

ATA (tel. 800/435-9282; www.ata.com) has launched a fare sale on late summer and fall travel. These are very good prices for domestic travel, especially since most airlines seem to be raising their fares these days, not lowering them. ATA is frequently the low fare leader to and from Honolulu and Maui, and this sale has some excellent deals to and from the Islands. Below are some sample one-way fares before taxes and fees:

  • Dallas to Chicago: $59
  • Indianapolis to New York (LGA): $ 79
  • New York (LGA) to Los Angeles: $109
  • Washington (DCA) to Denver: $89

For most routes, travel August 22, 2006 to August 31, 2006 and September 5, 2006 to October 27, 2006. Purchase by midnight (EST), July 17, 2006.

USA3000 $10 Discount

USA3000 (tel. 877/872-3000; www.usa3000.com) has revived its popular $10 discount, this time on all flights booked by July 17, 2006 for travel between August 15, 2006 and December 10, 2006. USA3000 serves the Caribbean and Florida from Baltimore, Chicago O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or St. Louis. Use the discount to reduce their already low fares. This airline sells all its fares one-way. To redeem, type in the promo code Fall in the yellow box when booking online at www.usa3000.com.

Frontier Denver Sale

Frontier Airlines is having a big sale out of its hub in Denver. Below are some sample round-trip fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart September 12, Return September 19

  • Denver to Anchorage: $332 vs. next lowest $412 on United
  • Denver to Las Vegas: $139 with United matching

Depart October 3, Return October 10

  • Denver to Puerto Vallarta: $351 vs. $410 on Continental
  • Denver to Philadelphia: $279 vs. $239 on Northwest (although Northwest doesn't fly nonstop, and Frontier does)

As you can see, Frontier has some very low fares out of Denver. However, on a few routes, other airlines are matching a beating the sale fares. That is why it is always prudent to shop around before buying your ticket. Travel August 15, 2006 to October 31, 2006. Blackout day of September 4, 2006 applies. For Mexico, travel any day through October 13, 2006. Purchase your ticket by 10:00pm MDT on July 13, 2006.

Spirit Vacations

Spirit Vacations (tel. 800/617-3325; www.spiritvacations.com) is touting some special packages with all inclusive airfare and hotel for seven nights. At first glance, it seemed to be a good promotion but upon closer examination we found some problems. It took some time for us to figure out that to qualify for the deal; you must travel on Tuesdays only. We began looking at Orlando and generated a sample fare.

Depart September 12, Return September 19

  • Detroit to Orlando plus seven nights at the Best Western Lakeside: $309 per person

It looked like a good price until we did some comparisons. Using Expedia, we found a package for the same dates and hotel for only $279 per person on Northwest. In addition, this cheaper deal allowed for travel on other days of the week. Plugging in a Saturday to Saturday trip, Sept. 23-30, we got the same $279 price. The only consolation with Spirit's deal may be the free admission to Gatorland, a $20 value. But that's only if you want to visit Gatorland.

Hoping for better results, we tried again, this time to Nassau:

Depart October 3, Return October 10

  • Washington to Nassau plus seven nights at the Nassau Beach Hotel: $725 per person

This time it was Orbitz that gave the better deal and it was very surprising. For $631 or approximately $100 less, we could get the exact same flights and hotel stay. So we were somewhat disappointed with Spirit Vacations offers and recommend that you should always shop around for the best deal.

Alaska's 15 Percent E-certificate

Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com) is offering a 15 percent discount on flights between Washington State and Southern California and flights between Montana and San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland. To receive the discount, enter e-certificate code EC04006 when mak

ing reservations at www.alaskaair.com. Travel between September 6, 2006 and November 15, 2006. Offer expires July 16, 2006. And you can book only on Alaska's website.

Korean Air to India

Korean Air (tel. 800/438-5000; www.koreanair.com) is offering discounted fares from San Francisco and Seattle to Mumbai, India. Below are some sample fares including taxes and fees, harvested from Travelocity:

Depart October 5, Return October 14

  • San Francisco to Mumbai: $1,189 vs. $1,400 on British Airways

Depart November 16, Return November 23

  • Seattle to Mumbai: $1,059 vs. 1457 on Delta

As you can see these are very good fares to India. Travel outbound between August 21, 2006 and November 30, 2006. Service does not operate daily. Purchase your tickets by July 16, 2006.

Brussels Not So Special

United Airlines (tel. 800/864-8331; www.united.com) has announced a special sale to Belgium, Brussels. Below are some sample fares including taxes and fees:

Depart August 4, Return August 14

  • Washington to Brussels: $930 vs. $806 on American

Depart August 12, Return August 18

  • Chicago to Brussels: $1,004 vs. $844 on American

As you can see, American has beaten these sale fares, at least on the two itineraries we checked at random. In addition, seats are very difficult to find on United. Depart through August 31, 2006. A Saturday-night minimum stay is required. Tickets must be purchased by July 14, 2006 with a seven day advance purchase requirement.

Singapore Sale

Singapore Airlines (tel. 800/742-3333; www.singaporeair.com) is offering early bird specials on fall and winter travel to Singapore. They also have discounted fares to other South Asian countries; but, very few of them are good, especially considering Cathy Pacific and Malaysia Airline's current deals to Asia. Here are some sample fares including taxes and fees:

Depart September 20, Return September 27

  • Los Angeles to Singapore: $845 vs. $983 on United
  • New York to Singapore: $845 vs. $1,106 on United

Depart October 12, Return October 28

  • Los Angeles to Bangkok: $942 vs. $755 on Cathy Pacific
  • New York to Bangkok: $942 vs. $905 on Cathy Pacific

Depart November 1, Return November 15

  • Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur: $954 vs. $909 on China Airlines
  • New York to Penang: $954 vs. $1,338 on Thai Airways

As you can see, Singapore Airlines has the lowest fares to Singapore. We have only given examples of trips with midweek departures because those fares are very good, even lower than the advertised prices (at least, we found, using Travelocity). Depart between September 5, 2006 and November 20, 2006. Purchase by July 30, 2006.

Asia and Stockholm

Malaysia Airlines (tel. 800/522-9264; www.malaysiaairlinesusa.com) has launched a sale to many Asian destinations from Los Angeles and New York/Newark. They're also having a sale from Newark to Stockholm. Here are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart October 5, Return October 19

  • Newark to Stockholm: $494 vs. next-lowest $574 on Continental
  • Los Angeles to Delhi: $1,170 vs. $1,110 on American

Depart October 15, Return October 23

  • Los Angeles to Singapore: $966 vs. $845 on Singapore
  • New York to Bangkok: $953 vs. $930 on Cathy Pacific

As you can see, the fares to Asia have been beaten, if only by a few bucks, by sales on other carriers. However, Malaysia is currently offering the lowest fare on the Newark to Stockholm route, which is usually the case (unless SAS is having a sale of its own). For Los Angeles, travel between August 21, 2006 and November 30, 2006 or between January 16, 2007 and May 31 2007. For Newark, travel between August 21, 2006 and October 15, 2006. Purchase your ticket by July 31, 2006.

George Hobica is a syndicated travel journalist and blogger whose website, www.airfarewatchdog.com, tracks unadvertised airfare wars and other fare sales.

Talk with fellow Frommer's readers on our Air Travel Message Boards today.


advertisement