Qatar Airways offers 25% off flights in limited-time sale

Book fast – Qatar Airways currently 20 to 25% off their normal business and economy class fares with a limited-time fare sale from the US to over 100 destinations worldwide.

Book by November 17 at 11:59 PM and enjoy a six-month travel window between November 21, 2011 and May 31, 2012. Customers can book online, via a travel agent, or in a reservations center.

The airline, named Airline of the Year 2011, is ideal for long-haul flights and includes one of the world’s most acclaimed business class cabins.

Choose from the airline’s entire array of destinations, including Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Phuket, Dubai, Seychelles, Maldives, Delhi, Goa, Melbourne, and more.

[Flickr via idf-fotos]

United puts Economy Plus on sale, $5 more than coach

Normally when airlines put fares on sale it’s no big news here at Gadling. Not a day goes by when some legacy airline or some large hotel chain releases a paltry discount on overpriced tickets — a sale that most times is not much cheaper than your average unadvertised, competitive faremongering.

United did something a bit different this time though: they put their Economy Plus section on sale, that section in the front of coach with a bit more legroom and a lot more comfort for longer haul flights. With reductions of up to 40%, some flights in E+ are now just five bucks more than a seat in coach.

This is, unfortunately, only limited to certain routes in the endless volumes of daily United flights, but hey, for the price it might be worth looking into. The sale runs until November 12 and you can check out the full details over at United.

Alternatively, you can save that $5 and use it for a sandwich while on board, but that thus begs the question: food or legroom? Guns or butter?

Southwest Airlines introduces Florida-themed plane and a Florida fare sale

“Florida One” a new Southwest Airlines plane decked out with an image of the state flag, was unveiled at Tampa International Airport this morning.

It’s now making the rounds at the five other Florida cities Southwest currently serves: Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers.

Southwest is adding service to the new Panama City Beach airport on May 23.

Florida One is the 13th themed plane in Southwest’s fleet, which includes planes that honor the NBA, SeaWorld and several other states.

To keep up the Florida festivities, Southwest announced a fare sale to and from its Florida airports, with fares starting at $49. The discounts are for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between May 11 and June 23.

The fare sale ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Monday, April 26.

Hawaii’s on sale with cheap flights from United and Hawaiian Airlines

Winter may not have officially started yet, but it certainly feels like it has. With temps in the double, and even single, digits and snowstorms covering the country, there’s no denying that a tropical vacation sounds pretty darn good right about now. Luckily escaping to the warmth of Hawaii this winter will be surprisingly cheap thanks to two great airfare sales.

Book a ticket through the Hawaiian Airlines sale by December 16 for travel January 5 to March 11 and April 6 to June 10 and you could fly for as little as $288 round trip (plus taxes). Seattle or Portland to Honolulu, and Portland to Maui are the cheapest routes at $288 round trip. Los Angeles and San Francisco to Honolulu are $368 and Seattle to Maui is $318.

Rates are even lower through United’s sale, which ends a day earlier on Dec 15. The travel dates are more limited – just January 12 to March 4 – but there is a wider variety of cities to choose from. For example, Chicago to Maui is $302, LA to Honolulu is $261, San Francisco to Kona is $265, and Denver to Maui is $285.
And if you need a reason to go to Hawaii this winter (other than “it’s warm there!”) Hawaiian Airlines offers a few more. January to April is whale watching season, now is the perfect time for surfers to catch huge waves formed by storms, and in February there are several Chinese New Year celebrations and the Big Island’s Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival. Plus, did I mention, it’s warm there?

If you can’t afford the flight, check out Portland International Airport’s website by January 2 and enter to win a pair of tickets from Portland to Maui. Okay, actually you can choose Maui or Chicago, but let’s be real – you’ll choose Maui.

Southwest and Virgin celebrate Thanksgiving with sales

Here are two more things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving – Southwest Airlines and Virgin America. Both carriers have announced Thanksgiving sales to celebrate the holiday.

Sample one-way fares in Southwest’s seven-day sale include: Austin to Houston for $59, Baltimore to Chicago for $97, Chicago to Las Vegas for $148, Denver to Milwaukee for $96, Fort Lauderdale to Long Island for $103, LA to Oakland for $59, Orlando to Nashville for $94, and Portland to Spokane for $58.

Fares start at $47 (and go up to about $159) each way plus tax. The tickets must be purchased by November 30 and are good for travel through February 9. A 14-day advance purchase is required, travel is valid every day except Fridays and Sundays, and there are a few blackout dates.

Tickets for Virgin’s sale must be purchased by December 2 and are valid for travel December 3 to 17. One-way fares range from $59 to $249 and include LA to Seattle for $79, LA to New York for $169, and Las Vegas to New York for $249.