Fares

A new skirmish in the West Coast airfare wars has erupted in Orange County, where upstart Virgin America and low-cost behemoth Southwest Airlines are battling for travelers with some of the lowest priced tickets in recent memory.

Herbert Comrov had to go from Chicago to New York on business not long ago--so he bought a Continental Airlines ticket to Washington, D. C. It might sound zany, but when the plane made an intermediate stop at Newark International Airport just outside New York, Comrov got off the plane and tore up the remainder of his ticket. By doing so, he saved a lot of money.

Many major airlines Wednesday cut their fares for the first part of the year in what some observers say is the start of a mini fare war designed to fill empty seats during the traditionally slow winter season. The reductions are aimed at the leisure traveler who is able to make plans well in advance. Fares for cities in the Sun Belt--where travel is always busy in the winter--were excepted. They include Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. Generally, the tickets must be purchased by Jan.

Courier travel can work to the advantage of the lone traveler with patience and endurance to spare. But flying as a courier is not the incredible bargain that some consumers imagine. It's not free, as it sometimes was a decade ago. If you're flexible and you travel light, it could be a way to save as much as 50% on overseas air fares.

Not much in the world of travel works to the benefit of the single, spur-of-the-moment traveler. Courier travel is the exception. It's no longer free (as it was for some a decade ago), but it remains a good way for a flexible traveler to save as much as 50% on overseas air fares, and it's a strategy that's far easier on solo adventurers than on couples.

Metrolink fares will hold steady for now, but weekend service in Riverside and Orange counties will be sharply reduced next month to deal with a budget crunch caused by a fall in ridership and revenue at the regional rail service. The board of the five-county commuter train system, which has been struggling with unprecedented, recession-driven financial turmoil for months, also voted Friday to cut two off-peak weekday trains on the Inland Empire/Orange County line. All of the trains being eliminated averaged less than 100 passengers as of October, officials said.

Death may be one of life's only certainties. But that doesn't make it any easier for consumers dazed with worry or grief to plan last-minute air travel for family funerals and end-of-life care. In an era of rampant discounts and fees, passengers face a bewildering array of options as they race to join loved ones. A decade ago, bereavement fares were commonly structured as discounts from the prohibitive "walk-up" fares intended for business travelers with expense accounts. But today every airline seems to have its own way of dealing with family emergencies.

It wasn't that long ago that Orange County's public transit system was named best in the country. Just 2005, in fact. The Orange County Transportation Authority was lauded for its service to the nation's fifth most populous county, logging a record number of bus trips and ridership growth. The agency was leading the way in green technology, the economy was booming and sales-tax revenue was pouring in. OCTA officials celebrated the honor by plastering a gold-medal logo, with their new bragging rights printed across it, onto the agency's 947 buses.

Never a smooth ride, the taxi business in Los Angeles has detoured into rough territory, roiled by meter-rigging, corruption allegations and labor strife. City officials and taxi franchise owners are blaming each other for failing to prevent widespread fraud; one city official estimates that earlier this year up to 20% of all licensed taxi drivers rigged their meters to reap illegal profits. At the same time, dozens of drivers are organizing to confront company managers and city officials.

California Shuttle Bus, which runs express buses between the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, began offering fares as low as $5 each way Monday. Previously, one-way tickets cost $45. The move came a day after competitor Megabus, which touted fares as low as $1, shut its Los Angeles hub because of low ridership. Only a few seats on each vehicle that California Shuttle Bus operates on the route will sell for $5; the highest price for a ticket will be $49.

L.A. County transit officials are forecasting the largest operating deficit in their history, prompting them to consider cuts to bus and rail service as well as fare increases. The shortfall, caused by cuts in state funding as well as an 8% decline in ridership over the last year, could be more bad news for L.A. riders, who have long complained about crowded buses and limited services. "The issue is coming to a head, that they're a quarter-billion dollars short on operating.

Metrolink fares will hold steady for now, but weekend service in Riverside and Orange counties will be sharply reduced next month to deal with a budget crunch caused by a fall in ridership and revenue at the regional rail service. The board of the five-county commuter train system, which has been struggling with unprecedented, recession-driven financial turmoil for months, also voted Friday to cut two off-peak weekday trains on the Inland Empire/Orange County line. All of the trains being eliminated averaged less than 100 passengers as of October, officials said.

Death may be one of life's only certainties. But that doesn't make it any easier for consumers dazed with worry or grief to plan last-minute air travel for family funerals and end-of-life care. In an era of rampant discounts and fees, passengers face a bewildering array of options as they race to join loved ones. A decade ago, bereavement fares were commonly structured as discounts from the prohibitive "walk-up" fares intended for business travelers with expense accounts. But today every airline seems to have its own way of dealing with family emergencies.

Faced with falling ridership, deepening budget woes and increased expenses for safety reforms, officials at Southern California's commuter rail service are considering raising fares for the second time in less than six months. The five-county Metrolink agency board is scheduled to decide whether to hike ticket prices for tens of thousands of daily passengers by as much as 6% at a meeting Friday. The potential January increase, on the heels of a 3% increase that took effect Aug. 1, is needed to help make up a revenue shortfall of several million dollars in the current year's budget.

Delta Air Lines Inc., AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and other U.S. carriers raised round-trip domestic fares by as much as $10, the industry's third increase in three weeks. The increase includes some sales on non-peak travel dates around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, said Rick Seaney of ticket researcher FareCompare.com. It's the sixth boost in fares this year.

Prices may be coming down at the pump, but they're going up at the ticket counter. Look for higher airfares next year too, some forecasters say, and maybe another round of fee hikes. Of course, no one knows for sure, given the wobbly course and snail's pace of what is touted as recovery from the recession. But the price trends aren't looking good for fliers. Take Southwest Airlines. When this low-cost leader announced a winter sale at the end of last month, it offered fares from $59 to $149 each way on select dates through Feb. 11, for purchase by Thursday.

Although Southern California still enjoys shorts and T-shirt weather, airlines have already started to roll out discount fares for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's travel. This is great news for bargain-hunting travelers, but it signals growing desperation among U.S. airlines, which have seen revenues drop 21% in July versus the same month last year, according to the Air Transport Assn. of America, the industry trade group that represents most passenger airlines in the country.

It wasn't that long ago that Orange County's public transit system was named best in the country. Just 2005, in fact. The Orange County Transportation Authority was lauded for its service to the nation's fifth most populous county, logging a record number of bus trips and ridership growth. The agency was leading the way in green technology, the economy was booming and sales-tax revenue was pouring in. OCTA officials celebrated the honor by plastering a gold-medal logo, with their new bragging rights printed across it, onto the agency's 947 buses.

When Eric Hagen started Recession Ride Taxi in Essex, Vt., he took more questions than fares. Everyone wanted to know if the sign reading, "Pay What You Want!" on the back of his taxi was for real. It is, and Hagen tells the Burlington Free Press that business has been good. He also offers a free ride after six paid fares. Most of his transactions are in cash. But he's also been paid with a CD (from a musician) and a $10 supermarket card.

U.S. airlines are hiking fares as leisure travelers who stayed home amid the economic malaise are getting back in the air. In the last two weeks, carriers have raised domestic plane tickets twice by an average of $10 to $20 one way and are offering fewer fare sales, according to travel website Farecompare.com. "Two airfare hikes in the past few weeks is the strongest signal I have seen that the bottom is either here or near," Farecompare.com Chief Executive Rick Seaney said.