July 27, 2004 -- ATA Airlines, one of America's unsung but reliable carriers, is offering absurdly low airfares for its end of summer fire sale.
Based in Indianapolis with major gateways in Chicago-Midway, St. Petersburg, FL, San Francisco and Los Angeles, ATA's "Big Sale" is one of many major airfare deals offering consumers rock-bottom prices for fall travel. Some restrictions apply such as all flights are off-peak and must be booked by midnight on August 5th, 2004, but no Saturday night stay is required. All travel must be completed by October 15, 2004 for most markets and needs to be reserved 14-days in advance.
While fares are ideal for any savvy Net-smart traveler, they're especially good for plan-a-headers, home sick college kids looking to do some laundry, golf or shopping sprees, and, ahem, big-time football fans. Let's say, for instance, you're a Colts fan praying that Peyton Manning finally gets the job done. Well, you can escape windy Indianapolis for that sunny rivalry with the Miami Dolphins from only $98 dollars roundtrip ($49 each way). You can get to New York for the Jets game for only $98 into New York-LaGuardia or $138 into Newark, which is right next door to the Meadowlands, Gang Green's home turf.
For you Midwestern golf nuts, the Chicago flight into Orlando or Tampa/St. Petersburg will run you only $118 round trip into either city. Los Angelinos can get to Maui for just $169 one-way or hit the East Coast, specifically New York for those screenplay pitch meetings, for $89 one-way. A $3.10 federal excise tax applies to each segment of the flight and a $10 September 11 Security Tax will be imposed. See www.ata.com for details, blocked travel dates, fares and scheduling for all routes. With ATA fares so low, watch for the other major carriers to match: Before committing, check your route on the big booking engines like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity for a cost comparison, as well as with search bots like Sidestep.com and Mobissimo.com (still in the beta stage).
Southwest (www.southwest.com) has been running its own version of keep-em-cheap flights. The no-frills, low fare airline just offered flyers "Systemwide Internet Specials" (meaning fares are online only) of between $29 to $99 one-way fares with 14-day advance booking to anywhere Southwest flies. These fares must be booked by the witching hour on August 5th as well. Travel is good through most of the pre-holiday fall season for all destinations except Florida, where travel needs to be completed by September 30, 2004. A passenger facility charge of up to nine dollars will be imposed, along with the 9/11 and $3.10 departure taxes.
Comparing Southwest to the ATA deal, certain routes are exact in price. If available, the Chicago-Orlando round trip also comes in at $118. Southwest's sale really shines when traveling within large states (think California, Texas) or regions (Midwest, Northwest), so get your fishing tackle and hiking boots packed. Most of those fares (e.g., Portland, OR to Boise, ID) are $34 to $79 each way.
What's this mean to you? Get off your duff and book before August 5, 2004. Also, the real big carriers such as American Airlines, Northwest, and United, will reduce prices asap. Expedia is advertising some sample fares on those airlines for winter travel that include a Newark-Orlando (there's that route, again) for the insanely low round trip fare of $103 plus taxes. That quick and crazy Los Angeles to Las Vegas gambling spree comes in at only $63 dollars round trip.
Remember, on most major carriers a Saturday night stay is the standard and availability is very limited. If you're itching to make Thanksgiving Day travel a little easier on the pocket book, think again -- every carrier blocks those days.