I have to give the Times credit on this one. Last week I read an online article by Joe Sharkey in the travel section that suggested that fare sales might be coming and pretty much dismissed it as crap. In it, Sharkey pointed to a recent drop in demand that may be motivating carriers to launch discounts across the board.
Wouldn’t you know it — as predicted, fare sales are starting to pop up. Is it directly related to Mr. Sharkey’s predictions ? Is it aggressive competition between low cost and legacy carriers in a tight market? Is it tied to the astrological calendar? Maybe a little bit of everything. I’m personally still not sure, but the numbers are definitely looking good, especially for the summertime.
For example, the tickets between Detroit and New York I was looking at for June 14th weekend just went from 300 to 180$. Virgin America, and Spirit have launched a spectrum of fare sales across their routes, causing other carriers to post competing prices.
Keep an eye particularly on transcontinental fares above everything else. That market has recently become particularly saturated, so competition should be high and prices low. Maybe now is the time to schedule that wedding in California or party in New York City.
Make sure you get your act together quick too, these prices won’t last long.
Thanks for the tip, Joe.