United Airlines Unadvertised Deals
United Airlines (tel. 800/864-8331; www.united.com) is offering some great fares for winter travel between various cities. These fares are a holdover from a sale originally launched, and long since abandoned, by Delta. Travel any day through January 31, 2007. You'll find more of these fares scattered about the Airfare Watchdog site. Below are some sample fares before taxes and fees:
- Atlanta to/from Roanoke: $180
- Buffalo to/from Denver: $160
- Chicago to/from South Bend: $180
- Cincinnati to/from Milwaukee: $180
- Denver to/from State College, PA: $160
- Indianapolis to/from Wausau/Mosinee, WI (CWA): $180
- Memphis to/from Cedar Rapids: $180
- St. Louis to/from Cincinnati: $180
- Washington, DC to/from Providence, RI: $180
Newark to Germany $267 Round-Trip (Including Tax)
European fares remain higher than we've seen them in a long while. But now and then, some rather astounding deals pop up if you know where to look. For instance, for weeks now Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com) has been selling Newark to Cologne non stops for $267 round-trip for Thursday to Monday travel, including taxes (don't believe us? See a sample booking in the Airfarewatchdog Fare of the Day). Seats become available from mid-January until March 13. From Cologne, you can take a train to many nearby European cities.
Eos Offers Free Jetblue Tickets
Eos Airlines (tel. 800/598-2149; www.eosairlines.com), which flies business class-only planes between New York and London is offering a free domestic ticket on JetBlue Airways with every roundtrip Eos ticket purchase through December 22, 2006. All travel must be completed by April 30, 2007. The ticket will be awarded in the form of 100 JetBlue TrueBlue points. You must be a member of TrueBlue to participate in this offer and provide your TrueBlue number to Eos Airlines to receive points. And if you'd like to pick up another easy 25 TrueBlue points, sign up for the JetBlue American Express Card for small business (small can be as small as a one-person operation). This card has an unusually low annual fee ($40) and in addition to the 25 bonus points you get a point for each dollar charged plus 5 percent off all JetBlue tickets charged to it.
And speaking of earning bonus miles with credit card promotions, we thought that this message board posting on the topic from a reader had a lot of sage advice.
ATA Chicago Sale
ATA (tel. 800/435-9282; www.ata.com) has discounted a few of its routes from Chicago-Midway. Below are some sample one-way fares:
- Dallas to/from Chicago: $59
- New York (LGA) to/from Chicago: $49
- Washington (DCA) to/from Chicago: $44
Other airlines are already matching these fares although it some cases ATA flies nonstop and the others require connections. Travel Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday through March 1, 2007. Purchase your ticket by December 14, 2006.
AA to Europe
American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) is offering a sale on travel to Europe. Below are some sample fares including taxes and fees:
Depart January 22, Return February 8
- Cincinnati to Frankfurt $510 vs. $447 on United/Lufthansa
- Dallas to Zurich $552 vs. $550 on United/Lufthansa
Depart February 17, Return March 4
- Miami to Madrid $519 vs. $584 on Swiss
- New York to London $450 vs. $463 on Continental from Newark
As you can see, the value of these sale fares varies based on the route. Outbound travel is valid December 14, 2006 through March 31, 2007. Return travel must be completed by April 30, 2007. Purchase your ticket by December 20, 2006. Some holiday blackouts apply.
Barbados, Kingston or Bermuda
Delta Airlines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) has discounted fares from Atlanta to Barbados and Kingston or Boston to Bermuda. Below are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:
Depart February 15, Return February 22
- Atlanta to Barbados $495 vs. $528 on Air Jamaica
- Atlanta to Kingston $435 vs. $410 on Spirit Air
Depart April 20, Return April 27
- Boston to Bermuda $339 vs. $350 on American
As you can see, most of these fares are being matched by other airlines, so it pays to shop around for the best fare, but they're still pretty decent deals. For Barbados and Kingston, the lowest fares are for travel on Monday through Thursday. Travel to Bermuda must be completed by June 20, 2007; Purchase your tickets by December 19, 2006.
Auckland Holiday Special
Air New Zealand (tel. 800/262-1234; www.airnewzealand.com) is offering a special holiday fare to Auckland from the West Coast. Depart on either December 24 or 25, 2006. First return date is January 23, 2007. Below are some sample fares including taxes and fees:
Depart December 24, Return January 27
- Honolulu to Auckland $1,022 vs. $1,496 on United
Depart December 25, Return February 21
- Los Angeles to Auckland $1,439 vs. next lowest $1,832 on American
- San Francisco to Auckland $1,494 vs. 1,846 on American
As you can see Air New Zealand has the lowest fares on all of these routes. And although the length of stay may deter many of us from taking advantage of these fares, it's not every day that we make such a long trip, and you can easily spend four weeks exploring New Zealand and nearby Australia. Book your ticket by December 18, 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.
