Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 13, 1993 TAG: 9308130451
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
But even with the two-for-one sale announced by Trans World Airlines on Wednesday and matched by other airlines Thursday, fares are a far cry from last summer's 50 percent sale that filled airplanes and ruined airline profits.
"I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette with airline tickets," said Judy Olson, a free-lance choreographer in Minneapolis who travels frequently for business. "Do I buy this week or next? It's crazy. . . . I hear rumblings that another war is coming up, so I wait and see."
For travelers wanting to know whether to buy tickets now or await a better deal, it depends on how much of a risk they're willing to take.
Some industry analysts and travel agents think the combination of a sluggish economy, thin cash balances at some airlines and historical autumn fare-cutting could combine for another all-out fare sale.
In addition, American Airlines' victory in a widely watched lawsuit over the half-off sale it helped instigate last summer has many wondering whether carriers might try a similar move again.
But major airlines, sniffing the first bit of prosperity in years, were reluctant Thursday to cut prices drastically.
The two-for-one sale reminded many of Northwest's "grown-ups fly free" promotion last summer that led American to cut its advance purchase fares 50 percent.
"We hope this fare sale does not lead to the destructive fare levels of the summer of 1992," said Marilyn Hoppe, vice president for revenue management at America West airlines.
Travel agents suggest travelers planning a trip soon should buy now and take the chance that the airline will allow passengers to trade in tickets for better discounts that might emerge.
But "if they're going next winter or next spring, I hesitate to counsel people to buy tickets" now, said Marie Nollette, manager of the St. Paul, Minn., office of Mainline Travel.
Because airlines have been slowly raising fares since winter, even another half-off sale means tickets would cost more than last summer.
A pair of leisure travelers willing to book their trips in advance can fly together from New York to Los Angeles and back for about $230 each with the buy-one get-one free deal. During last summer's 50-percent-off sale, advance purchase round-trip tickets were going for about $200 on the coast-to-coast route.
The TWA promotion, matched by competitors only on routes where they compete with TWA, gives travelers until Saturday to buy tickets for fall trips. The companion discounts apply to domestic trips taken between Sept. 15 through Jan. 31 and trips to Europe between Nov. 1 and March 31.
The two-for-one deal does not work in conjunction with a nationwide sale of up to 35 percent that applies to tickets bought by Tuesday.
Airlines took their time Thursday deciding whether to offer the free-ticket promotion. Northwest was the first to say it would match the promotion. Later in the day, Continental and America West said they would make the same offer on routes also served by TWA. USAir was studying the promotion.
United said it would match the TWA promotion in the continental United States for advance-purchase tickets. American said it would exclude routes that involve Dallas or Chicago, but include Europe with the exception of flights to Britain. Delta Air Lines was still studying the promotion as of late Thursday.
\ WHAT ROANOKE-AREA TRAVEL AGENTS SAY\ \ Mel Ludovici, president of Martin Travel Inc.: "It's still not in the computer. We heard the rumor, but we don't know it's a fact. I truly don't believe we'll get into a fare war. It cost them [the airlines] too much the last time."\ \ Gene Swartz, owner of Travelmasters Inc. of Roanoke: "Basically, I don't think USAir will match it, because TWA and USAir don't overlap that much on their routes. Generally, two-for-ones spur new activity rather than trade-ins."
by CNB