Dec 7, 2007
If you make the booking by December 17, you can fly anywhere across the country for $49-to-$99 on Southwest Airlines
I rarely write about the airfare sales of Southwest Airlines because a) they're usually picked up by other blogs, b) are almost continuous in nature, and c) are sometimes of only marginal value compared to the normal Southwest price structure.But Southwest's current offer of a $49-to-$99 price to anywhere is something else. And it's a system-wise sale that, for some reason, Southwest isn't headlining on its main menu page -- and therefore hasn't been caught by the usual suspects. Go instead to www.southwest.com/hotfares/hotfares_air.html for details, and you'll be among the few people in on the secret.
Essentially, Southwest is bringing down the price for a one-way ticket to $49 to $99 anywhere Southwest flies for travel though March 7. The catch? The fare only applies to flights on a Tuesday or Wednesday, so a weekend escape is a bit out of the question.
Other rules: you must book 14 days in advance and by December 17, and there are blackout dates of Dec 21-22 and 26-30, Feb 15, and Feb 24. Taxes and fees may add up to $17.40 to the final cost, and flights in or out of Orange County, CA, Washington, D.C-Dulles, and Hawaii are not included. (Also, if you want to fly into New York City itself and not Islip out on Long Island, you better travel by Jan 7, which is when subsidiary ATA's service to LaGuardia airport ends.)
Fares do not include federal excise tax of $3.40 per takeoff and landing, airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9, and government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $5 one-way.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
