August 20, 2003 -- Coloradans are used to high airfares, so many travelers in the Denver area must have been thrilled when they saw the latest promotions from United and Frontier. Unfortunately, when we dug into these sales, we found that they're not necessarily the best deals. Low fares are indeed available from Denver right now -- but not exclusively from the two airlines trumpeting their bargains.
United's current promotion is a perfect example of a sale that isn't, a boneheaded attempt to get flyers to pay more than they need to.
On the surface, it looks like fun. Colorado residents who buy two roundtrip tickets on United between August 19 and October 15 get eight 500-mile upgrade certificates valid for travel through January 31, plus a $25 gift certificate to buy Denver Broncos merchandise.
But as usual with these kinds of promotions, the lowest fares are locked out. For instance, United's lowest Denver-LA fare is $213, but the lowest qualifying fare is a mind-boggling $643. Going to DC? United's lowest fare is $253, but you have to pay $485 to qualify for this "deal." For flights to Chicago, United will sell you a round-trip for $213, but you'll pay $438 if you want your Broncos gift certificate.
This "sale" only makes sense for business travelers with deep pockets who absolutely must fly on expensive, refundable tickets. If you're interested, check out www.united.com/gobroncos.
Frontier, Denver's #2 carrier, is running a more traditional sale. Buy your tickets today, and you'll get fares as low as $158 roundtrip to the west coast (www.frontierairlines.com/sale/3day3.asp), $138 to middle America and $198 to the east coast.
But when we searched fares to Los Angeles and San Francisco throughout September, we couldn't find any below $200, and all the fares we saw were matched by either American, US Airways, Alaska or United. Frontier's $191.50 fare to Las Vegas was matched by America West, and their $213 after-tax fare to New Orleans was matched by United and US Airways. (It doesn't help that the lowest Frontier sale fares are only available Tuesdays and Wednesdays.)
The Frontier fares are an example of what we're describing in our other column today: rather than specific sales offering the best fares, there's a competitive atmosphere of low fares in the country right now that makes this a great time to buy airline tickets.
