Frommers.com Airfare Deals and News for the Week of November 1, 2006

Holiday Travel Deals

Airfare industry pundits are flooding the media with bad news about the high cost of holiday travel this season. Yes, some routes are high, but Airfarewatchdog says, "Bah humbug!" If you know where to look, there are indeed reasonably priced destinations and itineraries that will allow you to either go home for the holidays -- even on peak travel days -- or escape Grandma's cornflake stuffing this year if you opt for a warm weather vacation instead.

Having said that, don't try to fly to Orlando or Las Vegas over the holidays unless you're willing to pay upwards of $500 RT, even for relatively short hops.

We urge you to get to know Travelocity's flexible date function, especially the plus or minus 1 to 3 days option. This feature can be your best friend when low fares take precedence over traveling on specific days.

Here are two warm weather trips leaving on Thanksgiving Day and returning a week later, from Airfarewatchdog's fare of the day page:

• Nashville to Cancun, $351 RT including all taxes on American Airlines over Christmas Week. Other airlines are charging at least $200 more. The base fare is about $109 each way, before tax.
• Charlotte to Barbados, $100 RT on Delta, including taxes. (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and no, this is not a typo; this fare was $180 RT yesterday, but who knows what it will be by the time you read this)

Fares between major domestic cities are also reasonable in some cases, even for peak holiday travel, although you might have to return early on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to snag the best deals. When we checked, there were just a couple of seats left on many of the least expensive flights on these peak days, so we urge you to book your seats without delay.

For example:

• Dallas to Chicago, $238 RT nonstop, with taxes (depart the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, November 22, 5:08 PM United Flight 766; return that Sunday, November 26 6:34 AM United Flight 1203)

And on the same peak travel days:

• Dallas to Orlando, $282 RT, nonstop on American, including taxes. The next lowest fare is $517 RT on Airtran, also nonstop.
• Boston to Chicago, $237 RT, including taxes, on Northwest via Chicago.

All three of these fares are what you might expect to pay during a non-holiday period.

We also found some deals for Christmas travel.

Leaving on December 21 and returning the day after Christmas:

• Providence to San Francisco $354 RT, including taxes, on United (or a next lowest $924 RT on US Airways, same dates)
• Dallas to New York $245 RT, a wide choice of nonstop flights on American, but only 3 seats were left on many flights at this price. The same fare was available leaving on Friday December 22 or Saturday December 23. Just to provide some perspective, the lowest fare from Dallas to New York for non-holiday travel is $232 RT with taxes, so clearly American is not price gouging on this route.

Yes, we did find some routes that are abnormally high. Miami to Minneapolis, for instance, a route with little low price competition, will cost you nearly $500 RT on Northwest (the cheapest option) if you leave on the Friday before Christmas and return on the Tuesday after, whereas it's just $284 RT if you return on Christmas Day (but what fun would that be)?

We do expect to see the airlines announce off peak holiday travel sales soon (leave on Thanksgiving, for example, and return the same day or the Friday after), but we don't think they'll be as ubiquitous as in past years. So we urge you not to give up hope. Some routes are relative bargains, even for peak holiday travel. But buy now.

Airtran Systemwide Sale

AirTran (tel. 800/247-8726; www.airtran.com) is having another big sale covering all their destinations, with fares starting as low as $39 one-way (round-trip purchase not required). The discount airlines are slowly raising their fares, but these are still good deals. Other airlines haven't matched these fares on all routes at the time we write this, but may do so by the time you read.

Sample one-way fares before taxes and fees:

• Atlanta to/from Charlotte $49
• Baltimore to/from Rochester $49
• Charlotte to/from Detroit $79
• Chicago to/from Minneapolis $39

As usual, Airtran's long-haul fares aren't as good a value, compared to what other airlines are offering, as the shorter hops:

• Milwaukee to/from Denver $119 one-way vs. $89 one-way on Northwest with round trip purchase
• Pittsburgh to/from Las Vegas $149 one-way vs. $59 one-way on United with round trip purchase

For the lowest fares, travel Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday through March 1, 2007. Fares are higher on other days, and this sale doesn't apply to Sunday travel. A 10-day advance purchase is required. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 PM EST on November 8, 2006. We expect other airlines to match this sale on many routes, although they may require a round-trip purchase.

USA3000 $10 Discount

USA3000 (tel. 877/872-3000; www.usa3000.com) is at it again with their $10 discount on all flights booked by November 1, 2006. There is no travel period limitation with this discount but hurry, it expires quickly. USA3000 serves the Caribbean and Florida from Baltimore, Chicago O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Use the discount to reduce their already low fares, all of which are sold one-way. To redeem, type in the promo code TREAT in the yellow box when booking online at www.usa3000.com.

Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com) is having another system wide sale, with fares ranging from $49 to $159 one-way. Book by November 16, 2006 for travel November 14, 2006 through March 9, 2007 with a 14-day advance purchase, and only on Southwest.com. A reminder that Southwest still has senior and youth fares, and although they may not always be the lowest fares, they have fewer restrictions, including, in some cases, no advance purchase requirements. You can find these fares listed in a very well-hidden corner of Southwest's site (so well hidden that we can't find a link to it on their home page). They are available for purchase only by phone.

Business Class to London on Virgin

Virgin Atlantic (tel. 800/821-5438; www.virgin-atlantic.com) is having an Upper (business) Class sale to London for travel during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. If you haven't experienced it yet, Virgin's Upper Class cabin is actually more like first class, with arguably the most comfortable lie-flat seats on the North Atlantic. Here are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart November 22, Return November 29

• Los Angeles to London $3,017 with British Airways matching
• New York to London $2,934 vs. $1,754 on Maxjet to London Stansted

Depart December 20, Return December 29

• Miami to London $2,932 with British Airways matching
• San Francisco to London $2,985 with British Airways and United matching

As you can see, several airlines are offering good business class fares over the holidays. Depart between November 18, 2006 and November 25, 2006 or between December 16, 2006 and December 31, 2006. There is a 21 day advance purchase requirement.

Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com) is offering a 15 percent discount on flights between airports it serves in Oregon and Boston, Dallas, Newark, Chicago, and Washington. To receive the discount, enter e-certificate code EC05706 when making reservations at alaskaair.com. Travel between November 14, 2006 and February 14, 2007. This offer expires November 5, 2006.

Newark to Copenhagen

Scandinavian Airlines (tel. 800/221-2350; www.flysas.com) is having a sale on travel between Newark and Copenhagen. Seats are easy to find. Below are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart November 17, Return November 21

• Newark to Copenhagen $488 with Continental matching

Depart February 20, Return February 26

• Newark to Copenhagen $481 with United matching

Even though other airlines are matching these sale fares, they're still good deals. Travel must originate between October 30, 2006 and December 13, 2006 or between January 8, 2006 and March 21, 2007. A Saturday night stay is required. The maximum stay is 30 days.

Los Angeles to Down Under

Air Tahiti Nui (tel. 877/824-4846; www.airtahitinui-usa.com) has launched a sale from Los Angeles to Auckland or Sydney. Comparisons were found via Orbitz.com. Here are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart February 2, Return February 11

• Los Angeles to Auckland $1,307, vs. next-lowest $1,363 on United

Depart March 5, Return March 16

• Los Angeles to Sydney $1,362 vs. 1,303 on Qantas

As you can see, other airlines are beating these sale fares, but Air Tahiti is offering a free stopover in Tahiti, along with hotel accommodations starting at $100 per room per night at the Sofitel Maeva Beach resort. Travel February 1, 2007 through April 30, 2007. Purchase your ticket by November 10, 2006.

The airline is also offering two good nonstop fares to Tahiti: $658 RT from Los Angeles and $768 RT from New York, both before taxes.

Europe Nonstop From New York

Delta Air lines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) has discounted fares from New York JFK to various destinations in Europe. Below are some sample fares including all taxes and fees:

Depart November 20, Return December 4

• New York to Amsterdam $514 vs. $446 on Northwest
• New York to Frankfurt $375 with United matching

Depart January 17, Return January 28

• New York to Milan $509 with American matching
• New York to Nice $557 vs. $505 on Swiss

While other carriers are matching or even beating Delta's sale fares, on some routes Delta offers nonstop service, so take that into consideration. Travel through February 7, 2007. Blackout dates vary by destination. Purchase your tickets by October 30, 2006.

Orbitz.com Flexible Date Search Update

Back in October, Orbitz removed from its home page any mention of and links to its flexible date search functions. However, you can find flexible search options here (many thanks to reader Alex Benezra for this tip). Why they've hidden it is anyone's guess. Flexible searches do tax computer systems more than specific date searches do. Keep in mind that Orbitz only performs a flexible fare search 30 da

ys ahead (Travelocity and Cheapair.com search up to 330 days ahead, but don't include international fares), and you must specify the approximate length of your proposed trip, restrictions that don't exist on Travelocity or Cheapair. Although they claim to only list US and Canadian fares in their flexible searches, in fact they do include international fares as well. However, excluded are fares on Southwest and JetBlue.

George Hobica is a syndicated travel journalist and blogger whose website, www.airfarewatchdog.com, tracks unadvertised airfare wars and other fare sales.