TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Procrastinators Beware: Holiday Fares Going Up

ADVERTISEMENT

By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

TAMPA - Travel experts say now is a terrific time to seek bargain holiday airfares - for Easter and spring break, that is.

But those who did not heed travel alerts in August that Thanksgiving and Christmas bargains were selling fast can still find flights if they shop carefully.

'Is it too late, no,' said Jim Cohn, a spokesman for Chicago-based Orbitz.com, one of the major online travel agents. 'Are we past the time to get a good deal? Probably.'

As airlines reduced capacity over the past year to cut costs, airline load factors - the percentage of seats filled with paying passengers - are at an all time high, said Dale Oderman, an associate professor of aviation technology at Purdue University.

That makes planning more important than ever, he said.

For those who still want to book Thanksgiving and Christmas air travel, the foremost strategy is to be flexible in choosing travel dates, experts agree.

For example, if a family of four chose to fly round-trip between Tampa and New York for Thanksgiving, they might save $800 if they left on Thanksgiving Day and returned the following Tuesday, rather than flying the day before Thanksgiving and returning on Sunday, the busiest days of the season.

That could work well for those visiting friends or relatives who do not need to pay for extra nights at a hotel.

The same situation holds true for Christmas travel, with flyers getting a better deal if they leave on Monday, which is Christmas Eve, rather than the Saturday before Christmas, airfare comparisons on Orbitz.com show.

There's more that travelers can do to find a seat or get a better deal.

'Try flying in and out of smaller regional airports,' Cohn said. That might mean looking for flights between St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and Allentown, Pa., rather than flying into Philadelphia, which is about an hour's drive away.

The Web Is Your Friend

Another tip is to create a round-trip with an outbound flight on one airline and a return flight on another. Orbitz.com, for example, has a feature that shows round-trip flights on 'multiple' carriers that frequently cost less than a round-trip on the same airline.

Savvy travelers will check multiple Web sites - not all airlines are carried on the Internet travel sites. It's also important to compare Internet fares after all taxes and fees have been included.

And don't forget to check the airlines' home pages for what might turn out to be the lowest fare. It pays to study 'airfare sales' carefully, because they may not necessarily be the best deal.

But some bargains might be available through new sales.

Southwest, for example, is promoting a sale that must be booked by Monday for flights to nine destinations from Tampa International Airport at one-way prices of $49 to $99. The sale is good for travel between Dec. 20 through Jan. 6.

Southwest's Web site Friday morning showed a $99 one-way fare from Tampa to Washington Dulles International Airport available for Dec. 22, probably the busiest pre-Christmas travel day. But Southwest's lowest fares on return trips were not available.

Some airlines will add extra sections to flights over the peak holiday season, Tampa International Airport director Louis Miller said.

For instance, JetBlue Airways plans to boost its two daily round-trips between Tampa and Boston to three around Thanksgiving and four around Christmas.

However, airlines are likely to add extra flights only where they can shift equipment and preserve higher fares, which are up 3 percent to 7 percent this holiday season compared with a year ago because of higher fuel costs and reduced capacity, Purdue's Oderman said.

Of course, the best possible holiday savings are available to those who not only are flexible for when they travel but where they travel. That could make a less traveled, fun place the wise choice.

New York is the most popular destination from Tampa International for Thanksgiving, Orbitz.com sales show, followed by Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit and Charlotte.

New York also leads in Christmas air travel, followed by Chicago, Denver, Washington Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia and Indianapolis.

Hotel Stays Pricey

Travel cost isn't the only factor. Hotel prices these days can wreck a budget. For example, nightly rates for AAA-rated three-diamond hotels in Manhattan range from $350 up in November and December. Many start at $400.

'We've seen 50,000 rooms taken out of New York inventory in the past 24 months for conversion to residential,' said Lou Plasencia, chairman and chief executive of the Tampa-based Plasencia Group, a hospitality industry transactions consultant.

'Combine that with a strong push ... for international tourism, plus those travelers taking advantage of the weak dollar, and you have a recipe for some pretty strong rates.'

By comparison, rates for the Thanksgiving weekend in Orlando are far lower, for example, with rooms available at the AAA-rated four-diamond Peabody Hotel for $150 a night.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 and tjackovics@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT