RSS FeedImperfect search technology hits travelers' wallets msnbc.com
Why you sometimes need to play travel agent Are YOU an Annoying Passenger? 2-for-1 deal to South Africa Don't set yourself up for air travel failureWe were reminded of this again when we recently noticed a classic fare war between American and United on routes from each others' hubs (Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Washington) to Honolulu (both airlines reduced fares to around $420 round-trip including tax, with virtually no restrictions — no minimum stay, no advance purchase, travel over a 330-day period).
But what if you actually wanted to go to Kona, Hawaii, rather than Honolulu, from, say, Miami? Well, all the usual airfare search suspects would have told you that the cheapest way to get there would cost you $688 round-trip including tax (we used travel dates in October in our sample query). Savvy traveler that you are, you know that doesn't make sense. Surely it doesn't cost $268 to travel round-trip inter-island.
Trouble is, many, if not most, consumers aren't as savvy as you are, and they're going to book that fare. Fact is, you can fly between Honolulu and Kona almost year round for $150 round-trip including tax on two airlines (and local residents know that there are even cheaper deals available, at least for Hawaiian residents). So most people (calculators please!) end up paying $118 more than they should. If you're a family of four or a group, that price difference can add up.
72 Hour Southwest Sale and This Weeks Best Promos and Travel Deals
Southwest Airlines has launched an air fare sale in which some flights cost the same as what other carriers charge to check a bag.
Their site is being inundated right now so good luck getting through. I checked on a Flight to Orlando from Dallas leaving on December 16 anytime and returning on January 5 anytime and found a $94 web saver fare each way with one stop and no plane change. For that trip it isn't worth it to me. American, Delta and Airtran have had some cheaper fares lately on better dates. You can link to them through Priceline and Travelocity links below. Some of the shorter jaunts could be worth it to you tho, so here are the rules:
Dallas-based Southwest on Tuesday announced one-way travel as low as $25, based on the length of the flight.
The discount carrier says fares are $25 for travel up to 375 miles. The cost is $50 for travel between 375 and 549 miles, and $75 for flights between 550 and 999 miles.
A one-way fare of more than 1,000 miles costs $100.
The fares are available for purchase through Thursday, for travel between Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, or between Jan. 5 and Feb. 10. Other restrictions apply.And now for this weeks best promos and travel deals:
And the Fare War is ON!
72 Hours Only! Fly Within the 50 States from $50 Round-Trip on American Airlines! (Expires 10/29/09)
Last-Minute Deals: This weekend and next weekend fly from $98 round-trip on American Airlines! (Expires 10/30/09)
Array
www.militarytravelzone.com 800-853-0510 Provides air, hotel and rental car discounts and reservations. Its exclusively for military personnel ...
Dallas Travel Deals- News
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How will airline mergers and Southwests Newark route affect Dallas travelers? Dallas Morning News table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNFJ-oMcLUJuwqEriUClNSK_W_oITwamp;url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/DN-parsons_0905tra.ART.State.Edition1.35ce3f5.htmlbHow will airline mergers and Southwest#39;s Newark route affect bDallas/b travelers?/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fDallas Morning News/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1The carrier offered the bdeals/b for btravel/b through mid-October only, but we expect to see upcoming bdeals/b offering a longer btravel/b period, extending into late b/b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dSxNGiYYQo68opMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table |
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Deals that made Bill White wealthy reflect a demanding, focused style Dallas Morning News table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNFgXMWdt6kScLOD4q3BJBMfIStEXAamp;url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-whitebusiness_05pro.ART.State.Edition2.36246b1.htmlimg src=http://nt1.ggpht.com/news/tbn/idhFI3v5utYNVM/6.jpg alt= border=1 width=80 height=80 /br /font size=-2Dallas Morning News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNFgXMWdt6kScLOD4q3BJBMfIStEXAamp;url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-whitebusiness_05pro.ART.State.Edition2.36246b1.htmlbbDeals/b that made Bill White wealthy reflect a demanding, focused style/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fDallas Morning News/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Details of how the Wedge bdeals/b worked have been assembled by The bDallas/b Morning News from White#39;s government service disclosures, examination of public b/b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=d8XRJpWJxrIB2oMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table |
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Its Time to Snag Winter Holiday Travel Deals! CBS News table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNEeeUQiLgf6gXPg3F-jreN0KKyajwamp;url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/24/earlyshow/living/travel/main6800277.shtmlimg src=http://nt3.ggpht.com/news/tbn/E7n2X0eQIBmC7M/6.jpg alt= border=1 width=80 height=80 /br /font size=-2CBS News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNEeeUQiLgf6gXPg3F-jreN0KKyajwamp;url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/24/earlyshow/living/travel/main6800277.shtmlbIt#39;s Time to Snag Winter Holiday bTravel Deals/b!/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fCBS News/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1We#39;re talking savings on btravel/b between major cities like Atlanta to Miami from $69 each way, and bDallas/b to Ft. Lauderdale from $89 each way. b/b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dfOxa_996FG_thMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table |
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Virgin Americas entry expected to bring costs down at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Dallas Morning News table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNFOz0ZJ43t6RjU__iqHDivPPOqTmAamp;url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/DN-parsons_0822tra.ART.State.Edition1.35dedea.htmlbVirgin America#39;s entry expected to bring costs down at bDallas/b/Fort Worth Airport/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fDallas Morning News/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1Even though Virgin America won#39;t start service until December, it wouldn#39;t be uncommon for the competing carriers to offer bdeals/b on these routes for btravel/b b/b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=dloPGQl3aUfxcZMnobrband morenbsp;raquo;/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table |
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Travel News: Labor Day Weekend Edition Washingtonian.com (blog) table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7 style=vertical-align:top;trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbr /div style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1 //divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=tamp;fd=Ramp;usg=AFQjCNE903liKqVkoIFwE7ZoEnInaxf-xwamp;url=http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/travel/getaways/16677.htmlbbTravel/b News: Labor Day Weekend Edition/b/abr /font size=-1bfont color=#6f6f6fWashingtonian.com (blog)/font/b/fontbr /font size=-1As usual, there are a bevy of last-minute bdeals/b available on the Web, some better than others. United has last-minute airfare bdeals/b from Dulles to b/b/fontbr /font size=-1 class=p/fontbr /font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1amp;ned=usamp;ncl=d7uw2lU0DgDQVzMnobrb/b/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table |