More airfare sales are expected this week, and travel experts believe tickets from LAX to New York could return to the days when some airlines offered $198 round-trip fares. JetBlue Airways recently began offering fares as low as $268 for a round trip from Long Beach to New York. Flying to Seattle? It has been as cheap as $74 each way from LAX on Virgin America.
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Air, hotel prices are on descent
In an economy that's going nowhere, the travel industry is making concessions to lure customers.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, November 13, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Travel prices: An article in Section A on Monday about travel deals listed the starting price of a three-day Pleasant Holidays vacation package at $349 per person, per day, plus taxes. The price was per person, per trip.
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"If I'm seeing $244 to Hawaii, anything is possible," said McGinnis, who also writes a travel blog at the website Youmustbetrippin.com.
Add less crowded airports and fewer delays, and this winter could turn out to be a "golden age for travel," he said. With fewer flights, more planes are getting to their destinations on time, according to the site Flightstats.com, which tracks airline performance.
Farecast.live.com, a travel website that tries to predict the direction of airfares, said travelers who wait are finding better deals. A recent check of airfares found that plane tickets for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays had fallen below last year's levels.
"This is a dramatic change from August and September, when fares were more than 30% above last year," said Nick Leahy, a spokesman for the website.
Looking to travel overseas? Europe is a bargain these days, considering that with lower fares and a stronger dollar, it's about 25% cheaper to take a vacation there this winter than last year, said Simon Talling-Smith, an executive vice president with British Airways.
The airline, which has three daily departures from LAX to London, is expected to launch a major fare sale this week. On Friday, German rival Lufthansa slashed business-class fares from LAX to Frankfurt by half.
"It's a difficult time for us," Talling-Smith said, "but a good time for those who can travel."
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peter.pae@latimes.com
jane.engle@latimes.com
