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Airfare Expert Sees Bargains Ahead

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By TED JACKOVICS

tjackovics@tampatrib.com

Published: December 18, 2008

TAMPA - Travel guru Tom Parsons shares similar interests with other frequent visitors to the Tampa Bay area - including a quest for bargain airline fares.

The founder and chief executive of Texas-based BestFares.com watches the Bay area airfare trends "like a hawk," both for his business reports and to arrange visits to his home away from home on Pinellas County's Gulf Coast.

This year, Parsons found that some holiday season airfares have declined since October, an unusual departure from customary increases as the holidays draw closer.

Better yet will be the sales that Parsons expects will abound in January.

"I believe airlines will be sophisticated in keeping their planes from 90 percent to 100 percent full," he said in a recent telephone interview. "Florida could become bargain-basement city."

For example, 88 percent of airfares for domestic travel from Orlando have dropped since early October, with an average decline of $52 a ticket, he said. Parsons believes Tampa's fares match that trend.

FARE WATCH

Among the airfare deals to be had for holiday travelers:

•US Airways listed $212 round-trip fares, including taxes and fees, departing Tampa International Airport on Dec. 24 to Newark, N.J., and returning Jan. 6, involving a connecting flight, according to BestFares.com. Continental Airlines offered nonstop flights on those days for $263.

•AirFareWatchdog.com, which does not sell tickets, on Wednesday cited round-trip fares of less than $200 on various dates through June, including $125 between Tampa and Atlanta and $133 between Tampa and Philadelphia.

•Southwest Airlines on Tuesday announced a sale on flights purchased by Dec. 29 for travel between Jan. 6 and March, with fares on various routes between $49 and $109 on Mondays through Thursdays and Saturdays, and between $59 and $159 on Fridays and Sundays, not including taxes.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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