April 19, 2004 -- How many times can we tell you? Domestic airfares are generally quite low right now. If you're flying between two cities served by low-fare airlines or US Airways (unless one of those cities is Charlotte), expect cross-country fares to be $200 or less, plus tax. As both we and other travel reporters have been saying, this is one of the longest periods of low fares we've seen in a while, and it doesn't look like it's ending any time soon.
Hugo Burge, president of airfare search site Cheapflights.com, agrees. "Domestic fares are definitely where it is at this summer peak season," he wrote us in a recent e-mail. "The huge expansion of the [low cost airlines] means that the published legacy carrier fares are looking pretty darn good -- especially coast-coast. With a weak dollar this is a great time to explore your home turf!" He suggests Philadelphia and Boston as great low-fare destinations for this summer.
Still, don't get greedy. If you're planning a trip this summer and you get access to that delectable $178 fare, lock it down. While fares have looked great for a while, the only constant in airfare pricing is its unpredictability. The future is always a guessing game.
The low fares even seem to be bleeding down to smaller cities. Delta, for instance, has sales on through April 23 for flights to and from Billings, MT and Amarillo, Corpus Christi and Lubbock, TX. There's low-fare competition in all of these cities -- Frontier is starting service soon to Billings, and Southwest serves the three Texas cities. Still, Delta's roundtrip prices are competitive:
- Corpus Christi-Tulsa, OK: $118
- Corpus Christi-Charleston, SC: $158
- Corpus Christi-Tampa, FL: $158
- Lubbock-Tampa: $158
- Lubbock-Washington, DC: $238
- Lubbock-New York: $258
- Billings-Jackson MS, Memphis, and Scranton, PA: $218
- Billings-Baltimore, Boston, Charleston SC, Newark, Norfolk, Rochester, State College PA, and Washington, D.C.: $258
If you're interested, book at www.delta.com/travel/sp_offers/index.jsp. Billings flights require a 7-day advance purchase and must be completed by Sept. 30; Texas flights require a 14-day advance purchase and must be completed by July 31.
We're happy to report on these fares because Texans outside the Metroplex don't usually get a whole lot of love from this column. (Hey, at least you guys have Southwest. Think of the poor folks who live in Charlotte and Cincinnati.) But there's a riot of low fares for people in larger destinations, too.
American just announced a sale that spans the nation. Some of their fares are just okay, but some are excellent. Check out these routes, for instance:
- St. Louis-Fort Lauderdale: $118
- Chicago-Miami: $138
- LA-Chicago: $178
- San Francisco-Chicago: $178
Today is supposedly the last day to get these fares, but we're sure American will informally extend them. Use a major airline search engine like Orbitz, Expedia or SideStep to check these fares against the many airlines who are sure to be matching them.
"Matching" does seem to be the byword right now, and it's why you must shop around. For instance, America West just started $178 service between DC and LA -- but check around, as it's been matched. US Airways and Southwest are battling bloodily over everything going into or out of Philadelphia, with fares ranging between $58 roundtrip (for flights to Providence and Manchester) to $178 (for flights to the West Coast.)
As we reported last week, Song, US Airways and Southwest are battling it out for Florida traffic, and JetBlue has a network-wide sale bringing many cross-country flights down to $198. Truly, it's a great time for smart shoppers to book domestic tickets.
Why Not Take The Train?
While researching this column, we stumbled upon a funny little fact about airfares related to the reasoning that Midwesterners don't take trains. American is selling roundtrips between Chicago and St. Louis for $144 -- around $172 after tax. First of all, Southwest is selling this route for $68 plus tax, or around $90. That's one hit on American's fare.
But the train from Chicago to St. Louis takes 5 1/2 hours and costs $39.90 roundtrip with Amtrak's current 5% online booking discount. You don't have to go through airport security, and you can use your cell phone on the whole trip. Really, folks, if you haven't considered taking the train for these kinds of short trips, think about it.