
It may only be March, but the first Summer airfare sales are already here. AirTran, US Airways, United, Delta and American Airlines are all offering sale prices on flights through November 16th. That’s right, November 16th! That’s like 200 days!
So what’s the catch? Well, the airfare sale period only lasts for 2-days. In general, tickets have to be purchased by midnight Thursday. There are also blackout dates around Memorial Day and other holidays. Also, you may need to make a connection or travel to a smaller, alternative airport to get the lowest fares.
We made note of AirTran’s sale yesterday. However, if you want dig around for the other sale prices (and you will have to dig a bit), you can find them here:
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WestJet Airlines, Canada’s second-largest airline, has finally launched its long-awaited loyalty program. Passengers can now earn WestJet “dollars” if they sign up for its credit card program with Royal Bank of Canada and MasterCard, or through the airline’s Frequent Guest program.
According to WestJet, the dollars can be used as cash to pay for a flight on any date to any destination. There are no points, redemption grids, advance bookings, blackouts or seat restrictions.
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The USA Today reports that if the luxury hotel industry doesn’t see a rebound soon, “some five-star hotels won’t be able to maintain five-star service and frills in the future.” The current travel environment is forcing luxury hotels to cut staff and services, which may ultimately result in some five-star hotels become four-star hotels.
This could actually be very good news for budget-conscious travelers with an affinity for luxury offerings. As more four-star hotels shift into the marketplace, they’ll become more and more competitive for your travel dollar – putting you in a position to get a great deal.
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Starting March 17, Continental Airlines will start offering coach passengers the option of paying extra to get an exit-row seat, which offers 7 to 12 inches more legroom, depending on the type of plane. Fees will vary based on the flight, but a Houston-to-New York flight might cost $59 more for an exit-row seat. According to the airline, passengers who belong to Continental’s frequent-flier program and fly at least 25,000 miles a year, and those traveling with them, will continue being able to select those seats at no additional cost. Currently, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier and AirTran all charge varying amounts for additional legroom.
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The New York Post reports that over the next several months, air travelers can expect to wait longer — and pay more — to fly to and from JFK Airport after its main runway is shut down for extensive repairs.
The Queens air-traffic hub — already near the bottom of the barrel for on-time performance — is expected to face delays of what critics warn will be “multiple hours,” as planes are diverted to three smaller runways at the Queens facility. And passengers will have to dig deeper to afford the higher ticket prices that the airlines will likely charge to make up for temporarily cutting about 10 percent of their flights into and out of JFK. Adding insult to injury, the carriers are building in time to their schedules so that longer-than-normal trips won’t technically arrive “late.”
The shutdown will allow workers to tear up the 14,572-foot Bay Runway and replace its asphalt surface with more-durable concrete. The runway — which normally handles a third of JFK’s traffic and half of all departures — will also be widened to accommodate new, extra-jumbo jets as part of the $376 million project.
Year-over-year fare increases can already be seen on some of the airport’s most popular routes, including flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
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Shoes… er, hats off to this new technology!

Bad weather wasn’t the only thing slowing travelers down Thursday in New York. Passengers on a Delta Connection flight out of Rochester were delayed after two female flight attendants got into a fight on board the plane.
Dozens of passengers were forced off the flight and had to make alternative travel plans at a time when flights from the New York area are being canceled faster than a Tiger Woods endorsement contract.
A spokesman described the fight as a “little” argument that started as the plane was returning to the gate after a passenger complained of panic attacks. However, passengers aboard the flight have reported that it was a full blown “fist fight“.
And in case you’re wondering, the answer is “no” – this is not what psychologists mean by “fight or flight.”
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Mother Nature is again beating up the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region – and again hundreds of flights have been cancelled as a result.
As early as last night Continental Airlines had canceled 70 flights for today at its Newark hub. US Airways canceled 160 flights from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Delta, Jet Blue and American Airlines were advising travelers that flights were likely to be canceled and to call ahead before heading for the airport. Southwest Airlines has already canceled most of its Thursday flight schedule at Philadelphia International Airport.
In total, approximately 500 flights have been canceled at Newark Liberty. At New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports, the total number of cancellations currently stands at about 200. Coupled with the Philadelphia and Boston disruptions, we’re looking at about 1,000 flight cancellations overall.
My advice: Avoid the Northeast if at all possible.
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There may be a new world order emerging for how US airlines deal with storms and other potential delays. Instead of fighting to get fights off the ground, airlines may be more inclined to simply cancel them entirely.
Ushering in the change are new federal rules taking effect April 20th that guarantee air passengers adequate water, food, and sanitation if they’re stranded for hours on airport tarmacs, and heavy fines for violations.
One proof point is the havoc that the ides of February reaped on recent flight schedules. According to the ATA, US airlines cancelled about 13,000 flights that would have served almost a million customers between Feb. 5th and Feb. 17th. Clearly, airlines are becoming more risk-averse than they’ve traditionally been when nasty weather is forecasted.
So, what can you do then next time you’re planning your mid-winter trip and want to avoid getting stranded? Be sure to reference your farmer’s almanac first.
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Have you ever booked an airline ticket and been hit with a surprise fee at the tail end of the purchase process? It’s an experience that’s something north of frustrating. Well, there’s a Senate bill, The Clear Airfares Act, that calls for fees, charges or surcharges to be disclosed in a straightforward manner before customers input their name and credit card information.
The problem is, the bill doesn’t seem to be gaining any momentum. Last December, New Jersey Senator, Robert Menendez (D) stood in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport to announce (with fanfare) that he would be re-introducing the legislation – but to date, nothing has been achieved. Why so silent now Bob? (More on “Silent Bob” further down in this post.)
So what can you, Joe Traveler, do when you’re faced with an added fee on your airline ticket? Apart from writing to your elected representatives, not much. But keep the faith. Nobody thought that the “Air Passenger Bill of Rights” would get passed – but it did.
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Today Yapta released the results of its “Valentine’s Day Travel Survey,” providing insights into where love and travel intersect. Yapta surveyed more than 6,500 travelers, revealing that 60 percent of respondents plan to take a romantic trip by air with a “significant other” this year. However, Valentine’s Day does not appear to be a strong motivator for booking that romantic trip. Only 14 percent of those surveyed indicated that the holiday spurs them to book a flight for romance.
Here are the complete, un-editorialized findings from our survey:
1. Do you plan to take a romantic trip (by air) with a “significant other” this year?
YES… 60%
NO… 40%
2. Does Valentine’s Day spur you to book a flight for romance?
YES… 14.4%
NO… 85.6%
3. If you could take your significant other to any romantic destination in the world, where would it be?
Italy… 22.3%
Hawaii… 17.9%
France… 9.5%
Bahamas / Caribbean… 9.5%
French Polynesia… 8.8%
Greece… 7.5%
Australia… 5.5%
Ireland… 3.8%
Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, etc.)… 3.0%
Switzerland… 3.0%
Mexico… 2.1%
Argentina… 1.7%
Croatia… 1.2%
New York… 1.2%
Indonesia… 0.9%
India… 0.7%
Canada… 0.6%
China… 0.6%
Chile… 0.5%
4. Have you ever taken a trip where the goal was to find romance?
YES… 25.5%
NO… 74.5%
5. Have you ever found romance at an airport or on an airplane?
YES… 12.5%
NO… 87.5%
6. What is your biggest turn-on about air travel?
Bare naked fare sales… 47.5%
Hot vacation package deals… 34.8%
Sweet airline refunds (via Yapta)… 9.3%
In-flight Wi-Fi… 4.6%
New airline passenger rights… 3.8%
7. What is your biggest turn-off about air travel?
Steep airfare prices… 35.5%
Surcharges & fees… 33.4%
Flight cancellations & delays… 14.6%
Airport security… 8.6%
Other passengers… 3.3%
8. What airline do you LOVE the most?
Southwest Airlines… 16.2%
JetBlue… 10%
Delta Air Lines… 8.7%
Continental Airlines… 8.0%
American Airlines… 7.4%
United Airlines… 5.5%
Singapore Airlines… 4.2%
Alaska Airlines… 3.9%
British Airways… 3.0%
Lufthansa… 2.9%
Virgin America… 2.7%
Cathay Pacific… 2.5%
Virgina Atlantic… 2.4%
AirTran Airways… 2.3%
Air France… 2.1%
Hawaiian Airlines… 2.0%
Northwest Airlines… 2.0%
Midwest Airlines… 1.5%
Qantas… 1.4%
KLM… 1.1%
Air Canada… 1.0%
Frontier Airlines… 0.9%
WestJet… 0.8%
Japan Airlines… 0.6%
Spirit Airlines… 0.5%
SAS… 0.5%
El Al… 0.5%
Emirates… 0.5%
Korean Air… 0.3%
Air New Zealand… 0.3%
China Airlines… 0.2%
All Nippon Airways… 0.2%
Air India… 0.0%
9. What airport do you LOVE the most?
Denver International (DEN)… 6.9%
Orlando International (MCO)… 6.3%
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)… 6.1%
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA)… 6.1%
O’Hare International (ORD)… 5.9%
Schiphol Airport (AMS)… 5.5%
San Francisco International (SFO)… 5.5%
Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW)… 4.9%
London Heathrow (LHR)… 4.8%
JFK International (JFK)… 4.5%
McCarran Intnernational (LAS)… 4.3%
Newark Liberty International (EWR)… 4.0%
Sky Harbor International (PHX)… 3.8%
Minneapolis / St. Paul International (MSP)… 3.4%
Narita International (NRT)… 2.7%
Charles De Gaulle International (CDG)… 2.5%
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)… 2.5%
Los Angeles International (LAX)… 2.4%
Changi International (SIN)… 2.4%
George Bush International (IAH)… 2.1%
Frankfurt International (FRA)… 2.0%
Miami International (MIA)… 1.6%
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)… 1.3%
London Gatwick (LGW)… 1.3%
Lambert-St. Louis International (STL)… 1.2%
Toronto Pearson International (YYZ)… 1.1%
Tokyo International (HND)… 0.6%
Barajas International (MAD)… 0.5%
Don Muang International (BKK)… 0.3%
Beijing Capital International (PEK)… 0.3%
10. What hotel brand do you LOVE the most?
Marriott… 28.9%
Hilton… 14.1%
Embassy Suites… 8.8%
Westin… 8.3%
Starwood… 7.6%
Hyatt… 7.3%
Fairmont… 4.4%
Intercontinental 4.2%
Holiday Inn… 3.4%
Best Western… 3.0%
Sheraton… 2.9%
Doubletree… 2.3%
Choice… 1.9%
Renaissance… 1.8%
Ramada Inn… 0.7%
Carlson… 0.3%
11. What rental car company do you LOVE the most?
Enterprise… 33.0%
Hertz… 28.8%
Avis… 13.8%
Alamo… 12.7%
Dollar… 10.5%
Advantage Rent-A-Car… 1.2%