Most airlines have reduced their fares for upcoming holiday periods
Friday, October 31, 2008 by Shrish Pandey
Most airlines in the U.S. have reduced their fares during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods.
In the worst slump seen since 2005, carriers are likely seeing the price reductions as necessary as the weak economy could seriously affect both leisure and business travel over the coming weeks and months. Industry experts are saying that these types of fare reductions aren’t typically offered until much closer to the actual holiday.
On Tuesday, Northwest Airlines led the way with a broad-based holiday airfare sale, and by the following day, most other major airlines were following suit, according to farecompare.com chief executive, Rick Seaney.
“It’s by far the most broad-based fare sale we’ve tracked in at least 18 months,” Seaney commented on Thursday, adding: “and this is the earliest I’ve ever seen one.”
The chief executive at the discount travel site bestfares.com, Tom Parsons, noted that there are still even better deals to be found by consumers considering alternate airports, and also by shopping around.
“I’ve been looking for this sale for two or three weeks,” said Parsons. “When I finally saw it, it was kind of a letdown.”
According to Parsons, the reduced fares offered by the major carriers were up to 25 per cent off on tickets purchased 21 or 30 in advance. He indicated that air travelers who considered using secondary airports will likely get larger price breaks.
(www.asap.co.uk)
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