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Fares Take a Fall
US News & World Report · August 1, 2004

All the talk about crowded flights and sold-out hotels this summer didn't make Sharon Hodgson feel optimistic when she started planning a fall trip to Florida. "I'm always on the lookout for a deal," says retired nurse from West Union, W. Va. "I thought I'd have to do a lot of looking."

But the search was swift - and successful. In June, Hodgson nabbed a $132 roundtrip fare from Pittsburgh to St. Petersburg on discount carrier USA3000 Airlines through Travelzoo.com, a bargain Web site. Bargain-hunters like Hodgson can be forgiven for thinking that summer's heavy demand would spill into fall, keeping prices high. In fact, fall is turning into a bargain-hunter's free-for-all.

Led by feisty JetBlue Airways, airlines launched a fall fare sale in early July, weeks earlier than in summers past. The low-cost carrier cut some fares by half, with prices starting at $98 roundtrip between New York's LaGuardia airport and Fort Lauderdale (though taxes and other fees can push fares higher). Another no-frills competitor, ATA, has roundtrips from Chicago's Midway airport to Pittsburgh for $90. Delta Air Lines' low-fare spinoff, Song, is handing out Apple iPod minis (buy three tickets on the same itinerary to score the digital music player).

According to Utell by Pegasus, a Dallas hotel reservation service, hotels are cutting prices with equal fervor. (For example, the Inn on Fifth in Naples, Fla., sunk its rates during the sluggish September-to-November period by 60 percent, to just $119 a night). And the cheap rates aren't just in places that are always on sale during the slow months, like Miami Beach and San Francisco.

"We're seeing deals to places where you'd expect to spend top dollar," says Brian Ek, a spokesman for Priceline. That puts the usual fall discounters, like Caribbean cruises and tropical resorts, in an unaccustomed role: second choices for bargain-seekers. As a result, Priceline Vacations is knocking as much as $200 off vacation packages to low-season hotspots like Cancun.

Costa Cruises has seven-night Caribbean cruises for $599, and on some itineraries, kids even cruise for free. Orbitz is giving away $150 prepaid gas cards on some of its October cruises . Even Las Vegas, a year-round destination, is getting into the game. Buy an already-reduced air-hotel package at Vegas.com for this fall and get another $25 per person off, plus access to the site's concierge service (handy when seeking a hard-to-get table at Spago).

This year's dramatic fall-off is happening for several reasons. First, the airlines miscalculated demand, says airline analyst Ray Neidl. "When bookings started going soft in the fall, they got nervous and cut fares." That sent shock waves through the hotel industry, which relies on airlines for many of its guests. It didn't help that many Americans had just taken their first big vacation since 2001, meaning that a lot of would-be customers for fall trips were traveled out.

"Everyone thought low prices would disappear when travel started picking up," says Bob Cowen, editor of InternetTravelTips.com, a travel advice Web site. "But the deals are still here." At least until Thanksgiving.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Orlando. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.