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Don't hold your breath on airfares coming down.
Not only is ridership up but so are fuel prices. Add in the fact that overall capacity (re: less airplanes) is actually down around 10% from last year.
Some airlines are in bankruptcy, some are fighting with the unions and all are cutting back on "extras" like pillows, blankets, food, etc.
I would suggest setting up email alerts on Travelocity and Expedia for any upcoming trips.
If you find a price even close to your target you had better jump on it.
That's why my air travel is already booked for April, May, August and September. I'm using SkyMiles for the May and September trips.
You gotta plan ahead.
From today's USAToday/Travel
American Airlines will hold back on the annual expansion of domestic routes it usually makes during the busy summer travel season. The move is part of the airline’s effort to break even for the first time in six years and is something that “will test rival U.S. carriers' new-found discipline of limiting additional capacity to push through fare increases,†writes the Financial Times/MSNBC.
Even without AA's decision, domestic capacity has already fallen 3.9% over the past year. And with capacity being cut, flights are getting fuller -- with about 76% of available seats were filled last month. Planes flying at such full levels could start to present problems for airlines as the summer travel season gets under way.
"We've reached about the limit of where we want to put load factors," says Jim Whitehurst, Delta's chief operating officer.
Fliers' loyalty may fade as capacity cuts lead to higher fares
Speaking of shrinking domestic airline capacity, that's one of the topics covered today by Joe Sharkey, the On the Road columnist for The New York Times (free registration). He tells us that higher fares, reduced domestic capacity and continued cost-cutting are leading to "higher yields" and improved financial conditions for the traditional U.S. carriers. “Higher yields,†Sharkey writes, “is another way of saying higher fares.†Citing figures from the International Air Transport Association, Sharkey notes that those yields are up 10.1% in the first two months of this year compared with the same period in 2005. So, what does that all mean?
Sharkey has three predictions: “One, domestic fares will rise more than some industry analysts have been predicting. … Two, projections for steadily growing demand for domestic air travel may be overly optimistic.†On the second point, Sharkey says higher fares will likely erode demand from leisure travelers, a “bottom-rung … niche†whose “size is unknown because so many business travelers jump into it when it is convenient.†That possible erosion of the leisure market leads to Sharkey’s third prediction: “If and when that happens," he writes, "major airlines are going to be looking for more support from their most loyal and lucrative customers, frequent business fliers, who have to continue flying."
That could be complicated, Sharkey contends. He believes that there has been a "deterioration of elite status programs" that cater to the airlines' best customers, noting valued options like upgrades and choice seating options are now tougher to find. Sharkey says that because of that "deterioration," many traditional airlines "have lost the loyalty of a good number of those customers, especially the ones who maintain elite status levels.â€
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