Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993 TAG: 9305200030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wednesday marked the end of cut-rate summer fares - some as much as 35 percent off - giving major airlines the opportunity to slip $10 and $20 fare increases onto new standard fares effective today.
The increase - which will affect leisure travelers whose discounted tickets require a Saturday night stay - was quietly instituted by Delta Air Lines last weekend and was matched in some form by most of the other airlines.
Delta, American, America West, Continental, Northwest and United are raising fares $10 for round-trip flights of less than 1,000 miles and $20 for those of more than 1,000 miles. Trans World Airlines is raising all round-trip fares $10. USAir plans a $10 increase only on flights longer than 1,000 miles.
The nation's airlines, determined to fill planes when more profitable business travel is thinnest, require discounted leisure travelers to spend Saturday nights at their destination. Further requirements for additional reductions include seven-day and 14-day advance purchases.
"The key is whether this is going to stick . . . and the other guys go along with it," said Mark Courtney, marketing director at Roanoke Regional Airport. He suspects that the comparatively slight increases are intended to raise base fares in anticipation of further fare wars.
Roanoke Valley travel agents predicted the increases will have scant effect on their summer travel business, much of which already has been booked at the bargain fares.
Gene Swartz, owner of Roanoke's Travelmasters Inc., expects the increases to cause "barely a ripple" in the travel business. It "appears to me to be just a price adjustment."
More important Wednesday was the last-minute rush on some agents to try to land bargain fares for the coming summer.
"Right now, our phones are very busy because this is the last day" of the fare sale, said Heinke McDade, owner of McDade Travel Inc. "It's a very, very busy day for savvy travelers. They take advantage of these sales."
Travelers interested in the bargains needed to make reservations and pay for them by the close of business Wednesday for travel between Memorial Day weekend and Sept. 15. McDade said round-trip fares from Roanoke to San Francisco, for example, were scheduled to jump from $358 to $550.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
by CNB