The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is billed as a five-diamond “iconic landmark hotel” at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. You can’t get a room next weekend for less than $200 a night.
But Joanne Pratt won’t be checking in to the Langham any time soon. During her last visit, she had an accident — I’ll let her explain what happened in a minute — and she wants me to help make things right.
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If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What will they think of next?” then here’s one possible answer: How about an airline ticket price that rises or falls with the price of fuel?
Sound far-fetched? Yes, but that isn’t stopping Allegiant Air from proposing it. Buried deep within a recent letter to the Transportation Department (PDF), the no-frills carrier drops a bombshell.
“Allegiant is considering a new pricing option for use on its website,” writes its chairman, Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. “When making a purchase, consumer would be able to choose between a traditional “locked in” fare that would not fluctuate, and a lower fare that could change before the date of travel. That lower fare could be reduced further or could increase (up to a set maximum that would be clearly disclosed) depending on changes in fuel price between the booking and travel dates.”
In other words, Allegiant is prepared to offer you a cheaper ticket if you assume the risk of fluctuating oil prices. If energy prices rise, so does the cost of your transportation. If they fall, you could save money.
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It’s that time of year again.
Summer’s over, the kids are back in school, the weather is starting to cool off and everyone’s thoughts are turning to vacation.
Well, maybe not everyone, but for some contrarians, a fall getaway is more than a passing thought. They wouldn’t dream of going away any other time.
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Tired of high hotel rates and airfares this summer? Just wait. Travel prices may be about to go into a tailspin — again.
But doesn’t this happen every year, as fall approaches? No. Not like this.
When I talk to travelers who are making plans this autumn, I hear about dramatic, unexpected bargains. Connect the dots with what I’m hearing from travel companies, who are telling me that some rates will be on par with last year’s record-low prices, and you might reasonably conclude that things are about to get interesting.
And then there’s this: The feeling that the worst is yet to come. Know what I’m talking about? It’s like the pit in your stomach right after the first drop on the rollercoaster, that premonition that you’re about to go freefalling off a precipice. I don’t know why I feel that way, other than the fact that the pundits have been talking about a double-dip recession for the last few weeks.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Airfares, car rental rates, cruise prices and hotel rates should be recovering from their record lows in 2010. And for a while, it looked as if that was happening. But one ash cloud, an oil spill and a wobbly recovery later, room rates are basically on a par with last summer’s record low rates and air fares, which are up slightly now, are already starting to head south for the fall in selected markets.
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Travel was a bargain this summer. Travel still is a bargain.
The average airfare this summer — June through Labor Day — was $247, compared with $306 for the same period a year ago, according to Bing. That’s a 19 percent decline.
The deals are not about to take off, either.
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Will the summer of 2009 go in like a lion and and out like a lamb?
After a promising start to the travel season, AAA this morning said it expects Labor Day travel activity to drop by 13 percent compared with last year.
Separately, a new forecast by Bing Travel predicts holiday airfares will drop precipitously.
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Getting your ski legs isn’t always easy. Here’s what happened to Christopher Elliott when he took his first run of 2009 at Whistler-Blackcomb.
