Airlines battling it out offering holiday travel deals

Consumers are feeling the crunch of the economic crisis, and that crunch is steadily trickling into discretionary spending. Those effects are dominoed into the travel industry. The holiday season, normally filled with good spirited shoppers and travelers, is feeling the tightening noose  of the economy.   Travelers aren't hopping on planes, electing to stay at home or drive, as gas prices decrease.

Travelzoo, my favorite travel search engine, reported today that major airlines are battling it out to offer the lowest fares for holiday travel, in hopes of upping the traffic during this holiday season. United, American and others have announced new sales that further reduce fares over the holidays. In some cases, savings are as much as 50 percent!

Tips for Holiday Travel:

• Book last minute, if at all possible. Last minute deals are often posted to fill empty seats.
• Avoid weekend travel dates. Weekends are notoriously busy, so empty seats and deals are rare.
• Use multiple search engines to get your best deals.  My favorites are Orbitz.com, Kayak.com, Expedia.com, and Travelzoo.com.  (NOTE: not all airlines are on these search engines, i.e. Southwest Airlines.) 
• Compare all to get the best fare.
• Book early. Okay, I know this sounds like a contradiction to book last minute. However, when sale rates are released, snap 'em up, because there will be limited seats available.
   

Here are a few of the great deals listed on Travelzoo:

- Denver to Omaha ... $45 each way
- Boise to Seattle ... $56 each way
- Denver to Orange County ... $79 each way
- Las Vegas to Jacksonville ... $86 each way
- Seattle to Minneapolis ... $92 each way
- San Francisco to Tampa ... $99 each way

Happy Travels!  

 photo: AP Photo/Amy Sancetta