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Frommers.com Airfare Deals and News for the Week of February 29, 2008

Allegiant says hello to $19 fares, AirTran schedules a summer sale, Zoom says hello to San Diego, and more news from the friendly skies.

National Parks Promo from American Airlines

Are your forays into nature limited to the garden center at Target? Well, American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) has introduced yet another 20% off promotion to our National Park gateway cities, including Colorado Springs, Phoenix, El Paso, Sacramento, and Fresno.

This deal is available for travel from August 4 through September 30. And keep in mind that the minimum roundtrip base fare before the discount must be at least $200 to be eligible for the 20% off promotion.

Reservations for round-trip travel must be made by March 4, using the promotion code DFPARKGO.

Zoom Airlines: New Routes & Summer Fares to London

Building on the apparent success of its not quite year-old New York to London route, the spunky, fast-growing Canadian carrier, Zoom Airlines (tel. 866/359-9666; www.flyzoom.com), has decided to expand further into the U.S. market in a furtive foray that smartly sidesteps major airports and avoids stepping on any big toes by launching new routes to London Gatwick from two underserved and deserving markets.

Beginning June 20, shamefully neglected San Diego will be the last major U.S. city to get some long-overdue grown-up intercontinental service again after British Airways flapped its wings this way for a while and finally flopped some years back. With a twice-weekly non-stop connection to Europe at bargain-basement rates starting around $890 round-trip including taxes, this new flyway should have travelers soaring aloft and flocking abroad all summer long.

This comes less than a month after Zoom makes what amounts to a star entrance in the other Hollywood, also known as Ft Lauderdale, on May 22. Getting its first non-stop transatlantic connection should be a big boon for this secondary airport and give an equally big boost to its bikini-clad ambition of becoming a respectable player on the international stage. Transforming itself into a true low-fare hub for overseas travel lets it give overpriced, overrated, overrun Miami a serious snub, not to mention a run up the beach for its money, with peak summer fares going for $750.

From New York, Zoom continues to offer very competitive fares across the duck pond, although prices look pretty goosed up compared to last year's $99 one-way promotion. We have been showing you these great fares since the beginning of the year, so consider this your final notice if you want to catch the best round-trip deals and dates and hitch a cheap ride on this big blue bird before prices start going through the roof.

AirTran Spring/Summer/Fall Sale

Get a head start on your summer travel plans with this sale from AirTran (tel. 800/AIR-TRAN; www.airtran.com), good for travel through November 5. For travel outside of Florida, you'll find the better deals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. And for travel to Florida up until April 1, the lowest fares are available for Sunday through Wednesday, and from Florida on Tuesday through Friday. For travel between April 2 and November 5, the lowest fares are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Got all that? Good. Let's check out the round-trip fares:

All purchases must be made by March 6 and require a 10-day advance purchase.

$19 Allegiant Deals

For the second time in as many days, Allegiant Air (tel. 888/594-6937; www.allegiantair.com) has reduced fares down to $19 one-way and, in some cases, lower! Some are only valid in one direction but can be easily combined with the lowest available fares in the other direction to make round trips, if desired. They're easy enough to find and are generally sprinkled throughout March and April. We're guessing this won't last, so click like the wind over to Allegiant's site and have at 'em!

Additional Reporting by Tracy W. Stewart, Alisa Brayman, & Bo Borre

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.

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


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