Airlines roll out bargains

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Carriers announce huge discounts on airfare through June in response to weakened demand.
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News

ROMULUS -- After a year marked by rapidly increasing airfares, 2009 is starting out with a bonanza of air-travel bargains.

Price-sensitive travelers are finding a silver lining in the recession, with a number of airlines peddling seats at big discounts.

The fare sales don't affect checked baggage charges or other fees the airlines tacked on last summer, when oil prices hit a record $147.27, and even weekly airfare hikes couldn't help airlines keep up with the increased costs.

Since then, oil prices have dropped by more than half and the airlines -- including Delta Air Lines Inc., Michigan's largest carrier since its acquisition of Northwest Airlines in October -- have cut the number of seats they're flying in response to low customer demand.

Airlines have traditionally announced fare sales in January -- there were 17 or 18 announced last January -- but what's different for several carriers this year is that the discounts are for travel extending as late as April, May or June, said Rick Seaney, founder of FareCompare.com, a travel research Web site.

The sales last January were typically for travel through March, Seaney said, adding that he believes uncertainty in the economy is the reason for the change.

"They're not sure what's going to happen at the last minute," he said.

That means great deals for travelers who still can afford to fly.

Delta, for example, announced a big fare sale on Wednesday across a large swath of its domestic network, including deals from Detroit to Minneapolis/St. Paul for about $300 round-trip. Last summer, the same tickets were going for more than $400 at their cheapest.

Travelers to Boston can snag tickets on Northwest for about $335 round-trip, down from a high of $499 last summer. And round-trips to the nation's capital are hovering around $130 after cresting above $200 last summer.

Although generally less elastic in price than their domestic counterparts, tickets for some international routes are turning out to be big bargains as well.

Passengers traveling from Detroit to London can buy round-trips for less than $700, and fly to and from Frankfurt for less than $600.

A fall in passenger traffic has helped keep fares relatively contained. A report released Wednesday by Airports Council International showed global passenger traffic in every part of the world, except the Middle East, fell every month from July to November last year, the latest month on record.

In the U.S., Canada and Mexico, domestic passenger traffic fell 12.3 percent in November, according to the report.

The sales may be short-lived, though. Delta and other airlines already have pledged to cut seating capacity again this year -- down 20 percent at Delta from two years ago -- to keep the asking price for a ticket from falling too far.