LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe-Document

Search Terms: United Airlines w/5 US Airways w/10 Merger

Document 90 of 279.

August 6, 2000, Sunday

SECTION: TRAVEL;Pg. F-7

LENGTH: 929 words

HEADLINE: Despite airlines' sky-high prices, there are ways to find lower costs

BYLINE: Marisa Milanese; KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE

BODY:
When it comes to the airlines, there's a whole lot up in the air these days. Not just their planes, either.

Consider the proposed merger between United Airlines and US Airways and the questions it has raised: whether the $4.3 billion union -- the largest in aviation history -- will be approved by the Department of Justice; whether other airlines follow suit; whether passengers will suffer or benefit.

But as Congress continues to consider testimony from antitrust experts and consumer advocates, something has happened to arguably the most important issue to airline passengers: ticket prices. They're not exactly up in the air. They're just up. "Air fares are definitely higher than they were a year ago," confirmed airline analyst Terry Trippler, who tracks ticket prices for the online travel agency onetravel.com.

According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, the average air fare in June was 20 percent higher than in June 1999. Meanwhile, car rental and hotel rates -- two other industries tracked by the index -- have been dropping since December.

Some analysts blame the recent price hikes on the uncertainty surrounding the airline industry. But Ed Perkins, Consumer Advocate for the National Society of Travel Agents, said the merger proposal has nothing to do with it.

"There just hasn't been a good air fare sale," he said.

And with the travel climate the way it is -- planes at full capacity, gas prices at a record high, and airlines turning increasingly dovish when it comes to fare wars -- it doesn't look as if there's one around the corner, either.

"The major airlines have all but stopped competing with one another," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition.

"We're more concentrated as an industry this summer than we were last summer," he added, referring to the "retrenching" of airlines and their "building up" at specific hubs. In other words, as airlines beef up control at isolated airports, competition drops. And prices rise -- even in the face of the traditional summer air fare sales last-minute passengers usually count on.

Tickets selling

Even so, say analysts, travelers are biting.

Chicago resident Yo Watanabe paid more than $500 for a ticket to his 63rd high school reunion in Fresno, even though, by his estimate, it was about twice as much as he paid three years ago.

"It's high," he said, "but I have no control."

Elementary school teacher Alison Santoro spent $2,700 for a round-trip ticket from Boston to Honolulu that she booked two days before departure.

"I'm broke," she said on a return layover at SFO. She hadn't bothered shopping around for other fares because she wanted to fly with a friend who had made her reservations a month earlier. Then again, they didn't even end up as seatmates on any of the legs.

"They're hooked," said Trippler. "They're giving up the couch, the stove, the whatever else, and they're traveling anyway."

But with no summer ticket-slashing to fall back on, travelers who haven't already made their vacation plans might have to give up more than their kitchen appliances to afford to fly.

Or, said Trippler, they could simply roll up their sleeves: "There are some deals out there, but you really got to work for them."

Working for your vacation? Not exactly an enticing idea but a smart one this summer.

Consider the following:

[] "Second-tier" airlines. These are smaller, lower-profile carriers -- including Frontier, American Trans Air and the more formidable Southwest -- who are quietly expanding their fleets and routes, while continuing to offer the goods they pride themselves on: "a cheap trip," said Perkins. "One that's on time with no hassles . . . They deliver what people want. They don't promote vintage wine in first class. Their customers don't care." Southwest, for example, got the top rating this spring in an airline survey conducted by the University of Nebraska.

In light of the recent merger debate, said Trippler, "I think we're going to see these low-fare carriers step up big time."

George Oberle, owner of the Saratoga travel agency WesTrav International, says the smaller carriers are an especially good option for last-minute ticket purchases. He examined nonstop, round-trip airline tickets from San Jose to Chicago with seven-day advance purchase. On American, the price was $2,322 to O'Hare International. On American Trans Air, the price was $306 to Midway, which is as far south of the city as O'Hare is north.

Even so, he added, "people will go, 'Who's ATA? I've never heard of them. . . . They'd rather fly airlines they know."

[] Alternative airports. Being flexible about exactly where you take off or land can save you money. Trippler is an advocate of this strategy, especially if you're traveling with other people, who can share the cost of gas or parking.

Oberle cited the benefit of flying into BWI in Baltimore instead of Washington National, which is 30 miles away. From San Diego to BWI, the price was recently $198 on most major carriers; to Washington National, the same ticket was $685. "That's not chump change," Oberle pointed out.

[] Aggressiveness. Shop online, call the airlines directly, phone a travel agent. Then shop online again. The point is, assume that information is always being withheld. Because it is.

"Sometimes, even with travel agents, you have to dig a little," admitted Mahesh Suri, co-owner of Infinity Travel in Sunnyvale. Few agents, he said, would spend $20 worth of time to save a client $10.

LOAD-DATE: August 8, 2000

Document 90 of 279.


Search Terms: United Airlines w/5 US Airways w/10 Merger
To narrow your search, please enter a word or phrase: