Discount deals are everywhere out there
By Barbara De Lollis
USA Today
Airfare discounting is so common that even on prime business routes weekday travelers can save hundreds of dollars if they plan and shop, an exclusive study for USA Today shows.
Major airlines and smaller low-fare airlines offer fares on more than 100 prime business routes for well under $500 without requiring a Saturday-night stay, says Navigant International, a large corporate travel agency that checked fares at the newspaper's request.
The catch? All the fares were nonrefundable, meaning travel dates could be changed for a fee of about $100, and most required advance purchases of seven or 14 days. One-night stays were necessary in some cases. Only a few require onerous connections.
"We had no trouble finding low fares as long as travelers are willing to be flexible," says Navigant president Thomas Nulty. "But they do take some advance planning and some flexibility."
The discounts on unrestricted fares ranged from 35 percent to more than 90 percent. The most dramatic discounts were found on lengthier flights across the United States. Navigant, for instance, found this alternative to a $2,445 United Airlines flight from San Francisco to New York: a $208 flight on National Airlines with a connection through Las Vegas.
Since Sept. 11, airlines have been heavily discounting fares.
While good for travelers, the bargains aren't making money for airlines. First-quarter losses total about $2 billion, industry analysts estimate, and some airlines say they will lose money this quarter, too.
"Passengers are returning, but they're returning at much lower fares caused by extensive discounting in the industry," says Delta spokesman John Kennedy.
Some airlines have tried to raise fares recently. The first attempt failed when some carriers did not match competitors' increases. Two weeks ago, limited increases by United and Northwest were met with much broader fare increases by American and Delta.
These days, employees at Jones Lang LaSalle, an international commercial real estate firm, buy almost nothing but nonrefundable tickets. The company has cut its air travel budget 25 percent since it ordered all travelers to buy non-refundable fares except in emergencies, says Robert Rea, senior vice president in charge of travel.
"It's really not at all prudent to be booking fully refundable fares," Rea says. "Even if you have to change it once or even twice, it's still less expensive than the fully refundable fare."
Corporations are increasingly cutting spending by buying nonrefundable tickets and using low-fare carriers, according to a survey out Tuesday.
"The low-fare carriers have hit a home run," says Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition, which did the survey. "They are finally in the mainstream, and they are signing corporate contracts."
