Airfare Deals and News for the Week of May 7, 2010

Virgin America's Fares to Fly By

Virgin America's (tel. 877/359-8474; www.virginamerica.com) latest round of Fares to Fly By range from $59 to $149 each way. Travel between May 10 and June 30, minus blackout dates May 28 and May 31.

Round-trip fares must be purchased by 11:59pm PDT, May 10.

• Boston to San Francisco $258
• New York to San Francisco $278
• San Francisco to Las Vegas $118
• San Diego to San Francisco $118
• Seattle to San Francisco $158
• Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles $218
• Washington, D.C. to San Francisco $258

Air Jamaica Sale Through June

Air Jamaica's (tel. 800/523-5585; www.airjamaica.com) current web sale features fares as low as $81 one-way, before taxes. Fares are valid for travel through June 23, which also happens to be the final date of purchase.

You'll find both United and JetBlue are matching on certain routes. Round-trip fares include:

• Ft. Lauderdale to Kingston, Jamaica $264, incl. all taxes
• Ft. Lauderdale to Montego Bay, Jamaica $261, incl. all taxes
• New York to Kingston, Jamaica $319, incl. all taxes
• New York to Montego Bay, Jamaica $315, incl. all taxes
• Philadelphia to Kingston, Jamaica $367, incl. all taxes
• Philadelphia to Montego Bay, Jamaica $333, incl. all taxes

Japan Airlines Spring Sale

Okay, so Japan Airlines' (tel. 800/525-3663; www.ar.jal.com) current sale is nowhere near as great as last month's $400+ Delta sale, but for a last-minute late spring getaway to Tokyo, you could do much worse (especially if you depart from some of these smaller markets). Travel is valid Monday through Thursday, for departures through June 3. Round-trip fares must be purchased by May 18.

• Albuquerque to Tokyo, Japan $882, incl. all taxes
• Atlanta to Tokyo, Japan $992, incl. all taxes
• Austin to Tokyo, Japan $1,017, incl. all taxes
• Cincinnati to Tokyo, Japan $954, incl. all taxes
• Kansas City to Tokyo, Japan $995, incl. all taxes

For folks departing from the larger cities included in this sale (San Fran, New York, L.A.), we'd look to Air Canada and Singapore for the lowest fare.

Korean Air Web Specials

Save on nonstop spring travel between Los Angeles and São Paulo, Brazil via Korean Air's (tel. 800/438-5000; www.koreanair.com) current Hot Deals. Round-trip fares start at $893, before taxes. Offer is valid for travel through May 31.

• Los Angeles to São Paulo, Brazil $987, incl. all taxes. Fares require a 3-day minimum stay, with an allowed maximum of 45 days.

Qantas Summer Sale to Auckland

Qantas (tel. 800/227-4500; www.qantas.com) is offering discounted fares on summer travel to Auckland, New Zealand. Round-trip fares start at $798 for Los Angeles and San Francisco departures, and $998 from New York. This deal is valid for outbound departures through June 8, and again from July 28 through August 31.

Stopovers in Wellington, Christchurch, or Queenstown are permitted, at an additional $100 per city.

Sale expires Thursday, May 13, so get a move on!

• Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand $882, incl. all taxes

United Sale to Hawaii

United's (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com) summer sale to Hawaii is valid for travel Monday through Thursday, through August 30. Round-trip fares require a Friday or Saturday night minimum stay, with an allowed maximum of 30 days.

American and other carriers are matching these fares along select routes, and you'll find that the best deals of this sale are for Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco departures.

All purchases must be made by May 10. Round-trip fares include:

• Chicago to Kahului-Maui $603, incl. all taxes
• Chicago to Kona $633, incl. all taxes
• Chicago to Lihue $633, incl. all taxes
• Denver to Honolulu $595, incl. all taxes
• Denver to Kahului-Maui $584, incl. all taxes
• Denver to Kona $587, incl. all taxes
• Denver to Lihue $589, incl. all taxes
• San Francisco to Kona $533, incl. all taxes
• San Francisco to Lihue $533, incl. all taxes

What the United-Continental Merger Means For You

What's the United-Continental merger mean for fares? Well, we'll leave the predictions to Miss Cleo, though we do imagine fares will rise. At least in the short term, and especially on routes with less competition and the 13 routes flown nonstop between the two airlines' hubs, such as Newark to Los Angeles, Cleveland to Chicago, Denver to Newark, Houston to Denver, and others. A rising tide of mergers tends to lift all airlines, so even other airlines (such as American and US Airways, which haven't decided to merge with other carriers) will be able to raise fares as well. However, it's highly likely that low-fare airlines, such as AirTran, JetBlue, Virgin America, Southwest, and Allegiant, will see opportunity in these increased fares and expand service on routes where fares have increased. It's also possible that entrepreneurs will launch yet another discount airline, keeping a lid on fares.

And what's to come of fees and frequent flyer programs? More on this in the Airfarewatchdog blog.

George Hobica is a syndicated travel journalist and blogger whose website, www.airfarewatchdog.com, tracks unadvertised airfare wars and fare sales, including the most helpful and always updated Top 50 Airfares.

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