Are the economics of Twitter airfares worth it?

by Grant Martin on

More and more budget-travel tipsters are pointing towards Twitter, Facebook and social media outlets as the source for wild cheap airfares these days. And it’s true, in a way. By subscribing to the pundit feeds online it’s possible to get the inside scoop on a few good routes, often saving a few shekels on a future itinerary.

Broad, dirt cheap fares (sometimes called bingos), however, are harder to pin down. You’ve probably heard about the one guy who got a $7 airfare to Iceland or the other woman who flew to Buenos Aires for $40. These (mistake) fares usually occur two or three times a year and more often than not, last less than 24 hours. Yet these are the tickets that fuel the pundit followers.

Now, with the proliferation of active Twitterers, Flyertalk and Slickdeals, bingo fares are becoming harder and harder to find. Rick Seaney (@rickseaney) is a great example. The CEO of Farecompare has access to a broad spectrum of ticket data before it gets sent to travel agents like Orbitz and Expedia and as such, has a virtual crystal-ball into airfares that are going to soon be available. Great position to Tweet from, right? But can’t the airlines follow the same feed? Could they perhaps pay Mr. Seaney to find mistakes before we do? It’s not unlikely.
Now, the more “viral” a fare goes (with mistake fares), the greater the chance that it’ll be canceled quickly. So effectively, this boils the bingo fares down to being in the right place at the right time — in front of your computer, with a credit card when the fare goes live. And booking it. Immediately. Were you busy updating your Facebook profile? Reading Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter Feed? Digging through the endless retweet drivel that isn’t relevant to YOUR ticket? Sorry, you missed it.

In the end, its a question of opportunity cost. How well worth your time is it to sit at your desk, reading pages of Twitter junk to sift out your special fare? The forty hours that cumulatively add up over the course of the year could easily be spent, well, working — the output of which would be the money to buy a regularly priced ticket.

What today’s travel consumer needs is a low frequency, high volume alarm, one website that makes a phone call or sends an SMS only when your perfect fare comes up, the red telephone on your desk, so to speak. This phone may only ring once or twice a year, but when it does, you can pick it up and book your dream ticket. And until then? Spend your time reading Ashton’s feed and not blindly pawing around for bingo fares.

Now, who’s willing to make that call?

Want a lifetime of free flights? Give birth on board

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s one lucky newborn baby and mom living in Malaysia. The mother, a 31-year-old Malaysian woman, added excitement and drama to an AirAsia flight from Penang to Kuching this past Wednesday when she gave birth to her bundle of joy while the plane was still in the air.

Shortly after the baby was born, the plane landed in Kuala Lumpur. The aim was for the emergency landing to occur before the baby arrived but obviously the baby had other ideas.

Giving birth in flight, with the help of a doctor who was on board, has landed this mom a jackpot of free flights on AirAsia for life. The airline has also bestowed these riches to the newborn.

Can you believe the luck? Just two days old and already a budget traveler to envy. Think of all the nifty vacations this kid will be able to go on. AirAsia, a budget carrier, flies all over Asia and to the United Kingdom.

In a way, this is also like being granted lifelong companion fare status. If either mom or son want to travel with a friend or relative, they could offer to pay a portion of the companion’s ticket in order to share the wealth and have a steady stream of traveling pals.

Happily, mother and son are doing well, even though, the birth was 11 weeks premature.

Why people aren’t flying. (Hint: It’s not just the fares)

by George Hobica on

Think that all airlines are losing business during the recession? Not quite. Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways saw their traffic jump 9 and 10 percent, respectively, in September, while United’s was down 6 percent. Other airlines suffered traffic declines as well. Could it be that consumers are flocking to airlines known for having better service (e.g., JetBlue’s extra legroom, free snacks, and live TV) and lower fees than most of their competition (Southwest has lower fees across the board where they do charge a fee)? Is one reason the airline industry is in such dire shape because the product has deteriorated to the point where people just don’t want to fly at any price?

A recent reader poll by Consumertraveler.com crowned Southwest as respondents’ favorite airline, with 71 percent saying that service was the reason why. The same poll revealed that “comfortable seating” was the main reason consumers who chose JetBlue as their favorite did so.

Airlines are losing money ($11 billion worldwide this year, according to one estimate), fewer people are flying, and, despite capacity cuts, the average fare paid is going down. Now one would think that if you have fewer seats to sell you’d be able to charge more for those remaining. But while scarcity pricing works in most other industries, it appears not to in air travel. The airlines park planes in the desert, but fares stay the same on most routes or go down (depending on which statistics you believe, average ticketed fares have fallen about 20 percent this year compared to last, far more than prices have dived in most other industries). So why is there insufficient demand for air travel?Sure, the recession is part of it. And, let’s face it, most travel is discretionary. Other than attending funerals and weddings, visiting dying relatives, going off to college, or making mission-critical business trips (a technician traveling to repair an ailing nuclear plant), flying somewhere is simply not a life and death affair. Vacationers can stay home, drive, or take the bus. Business folks can seal deals by phone or email, or videoconference, even though doing so is usually less effective.

Airfarewatchdog believes that a lot of people aren’t flying because, to put it bluntly, flying is a big PITA. If air travel were a better experience, we believe, more people would take to the skies, even at higher fares. But, of course, improving the product will cost money that the airlines don’t have and we’d all have to pay higher taxes to fix our antiquated air traffic control system.

To test our theory, we’re running an admittedly unscientific poll asking readers, “If you aren’t flying as much as you used to, what’s the number one reason why?” The options are:

  • “Fares are too high”
  • “I’m afraid of losing my job”
  • “Air travel is a pain what with all the delays and fees”
  • “None of the above”

With over 1500 responses so far, 44 percent have answered that fares are too high, but almost as many (41 percent) aren’t flying because it’s just a big fat bother.

But it’s not just the raw numbers that are interesting. We also asked for comments, and that’s where things get revealing. I think we got one email complaining about high fares (not surprising since fares are trending down), but dozens lamenting the sorry state that air travel finds itself in. People are, to put it mildly, fed up.

Paul Schrodt writes from Columbus, OH, “I used to fly during the winter months to Florida. Now, because of fees and other airline shenanigans I just drive, and enjoy the trip a whole lot more. Let’s let the airlines suffer until they come to their senses again!” Whew.

To be fair, several respondents complained about hassles beyond the airlines’ control. Joseph Kraatz of Oceanside, California, spoke for many when he wrote, “By the time I drive to the airport, find a parking space, get to the terminal, then go through the ridiculous inspections, I have wasted 3 hours. I can drive to Las Vegas in six hours and arrive way before my flight. Is there something wrong with this picture? You bet there is. People should completely stop flying on trips of anything less than 1000 miles.”

But others have stopped flying simply because it’s an uncomfortable experience. “Airlines have crammed more seats into their flying aluminum cans,” one reader laments. Another gripes that seats are “as thin as cardboard” and that he has taken to riding the bus for trips of less than four hours. “The bus seats are much more comfortable and the travel time is comparable. I also get to see a bit of the country side and I’ve yet to have a bus fail to leave the terminal on time.”

But perhaps the reader who summed it up best was the one who simply noted that, “flying just isn’t fun anymore. It’s an ordeal–uncomfortable, crowded, and unhealthy.”

So what’s the answer? Re-regulation? Higher fares? Fewer airlines? Allowing foreign carriers to serve domestic routes (imagine flying Singapore Airlines nonstop from New York to LA)? One thing is clear: airlines can’t go on forever losing billions. Something has to give. And until airlines are profitable again, they probably can’t afford to make flying with them a more pleasant experience. You want friendlier airline staff? Stop cutting their pay and benefits. Comfier padded seats? That will burn more jet fuel, so be prepared to pay for it. And so on.

Even I don’t fly as much as I used to. I travel frequently between my home in New York City and Boston, sometimes more than once a month. And although I created a site called Airfarewatchdog, I usually take the train. The only thing that enticed me to fly recently was a sale on JetBlue combined with a 20 percent promo code discount, bringing the tax-included round-trip fare to $66. But on the train I get more legroom, two-by-two or even single seating, no lines, no hassle, and because I travel the route often, free upgrades to first class, where I’m served a hot meal at my well-padded seat by friendly attendants. It’s almost like flying…used to be.

George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog™, the most inclusive source of airfare deals that have been researched and verified by experts. Airfarewatchdog compares fares from all airlines and includes the increasing number of airline-site-only and promo code fares.

ABC News and Hotels.com list best US cities for hotel deals

by Katie Hammel on

On most trips, your two biggest expenses will be your transportation and your accommodation. You don’t have much control over the price of your flight, but you can balance out that cost by picking a destination where you are more likely to score a deal on your hotel. ABC News has put together a list of popular tourist destinations in the US where hotel rates are falling, including Las Vegas, Tuscon, Anchorage and Chicago.

In some cites, the savings can be as much as 30%. In New York, the average has dropped from $281 to $196 – nearly $100 per night. Stay 2-3 nights and that could cover your airfare. Miami’s average is down from $176 to $140 and the cost of a typical hotel room in San Francisco has decreased from $155 to $124. Even rates in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, are down 18% from $191 to $157.

The stats came from Hotels.com’s list of average hotel room rates around the world. Chicago, with a drop of 22% came in third place (tied with Anchorage) among major cities for the most significant drop in rates. Juneau, Alaska, was in second place. New York and Las Vegas tied for the top spot with a drop of 30%. Every state in the US experienced a drop in the average nightly rate, except for North Dakota. Rates there remained stable.

The lowest prices in the country were found in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Boise, Idaho; and Las Vegas.

The global average for hotel price drops was 17% with Moscow experiencing the most significant decrease of 52%.

Mileage runs, Flyertalk and obsessive compulsive flying: a film project

by Grant Martin on

Those who are remotely close to airline world have probably heard the term “mileage running” or have listened to a brief tirade about upgrades or lounge access at some point — and many of you have probably tuned it out.

For those of you genuinely curious about the industry and those who try to work the system, however, Gabriel Leigh put together a pretty good documentary for his Master’s thesis on how milking the process works, the costs, benefits and some of the personalities therein.

You might recognize a few of the interviewees — Steve Belkin is the founder of Competitours, Randy Petersen founded Flyertalk and those fingers holding the small airplane models? Brett Snyder’s, from The Cranky Flier and the The Cranky Concierge.

Irrespective of whether you subscribe to the content or not, the filmography is excellent and is worth watching alone. If you make it through the entire 20 minute video, let us know in the comments whether it strikes you as vain or savvy. I still don’t know myself.

Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh.