=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2002/03= /05/BU229230.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, March 5, 2002 (SF Chronicle) High cost of last-minute flights/But there are ways to avoid budget busters Roger Rapoport, Special to The Chronicle It's a perennial problem for any business traveler who must make a last-minute change in his schedule. That bargain transcontinental ticket purchased weeks ago for $300 may co= st upward of $1,000 to rewrite or replace. There are many ways to avoid this problem without paying a king's ransom because a client has shifted a Tuesday meeting to Friday night. To boost their bottom line, many airlines depend on expensive last-minut= e, walk-up fares that can run three to six times the cost of an advance purchase ticket. While changing the date of your return might cost $100, changing the day of your outbound flight at the last minute usually breaks the advance- purchase rules of discount fares. The same is often true when you need to return home before laying over f= or a Saturday night. Even discount airlines like Southwest will rewrite the ticket at a higher fare. The economics are not lost on last-minute business travelers like a Minneapolis sales manager who likes to remain flexible and not spend his Saturday nights bunking at a Motel 6 to keep his air fares down. "To keep my schedule open I paid $1,000 for a ticket from Minneapolis to Detroit, $1,900 to Los Angeles, $600 to Des Moines, $1,200 to New York," he said. "My travel agent found me an inexpensive $180 ticket to Milwaukee recently with no advance purchase restrictions. At first I thought she had made a mistake." Because major carriers enjoy near monopolies on many routes and no one else can get you there faster, the airlines put the customer in a caveat emptor situation. SMALLER AIRLINES TRY HARDER There is some relief, however. Southwest and some small carriers such as Frontier and Sun Country offer instant purchase and one-way fares that are lower than the dominant airlines' fares. And, in a little noticed development that offers a hopeful break from the status quo, American Trans Air has eliminated requirements for advance purchase and a Saturday night stay on flights to more than two dozen destinations. For example, I recently flew at the last minute from San Francisco to Chicago's Midway Airport on American Trans Air for $389. That's more than some advance purchase fares, but many hundreds of dollars less than last-minute fares on other carriers. Of course, it's always a good idea to avoid last-minute bookings. Ask yourself a few questions before buying a ticket. Does your client have a history of breaking appointments? If your daughter's soccer team makes the tournament playoffs, will you have to postpone your trip? Are you worried that a big trial date may be pushed back? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, keep reading. When in doubt about your departure date, consider a frequent-flier award or a free flight voucher (bump coupon) issued for voluntarily giving up your seat on a flight. If you do this, rebooking is often free, and in the worst case you will pay a small fee for new flight dates. Beware of blackout periods on award travel and remember that frequent-flier seats may not be available to some resort airports during peak season. If you volunteer to give up your seat on a full plane and take a later flight, your airline may offer you a cash voucher or a free flight voucher good to any destination in the continental United States. As a prudent business traveler, take the latter. Even a $500 cash voucher won't do you much good if you need a $1,900 las= t- minute ticket to Miami. Cash vouchers are best used when you can plan ahead and take advantage of discount fares. If you don't have an award or a bump coupon, all is not lost, particular= ly on shorter trips. In the West, Southwest, Shuttle by United, Alaska and other carriers offer reasonably priced full-fare tickets that give you complete flexibility. DON'T FORGET AMTRAK Another possibility, particularly if you are traveling less than 500 miles, is Amtrak. Last-minute rail fares on short-distance trips often impose no surcharge. This comforting approach is particularly useful on the West or East coast. You might even combine a relatively low-cost airline flight such as San Jose-Salt Lake with a handy Amtrak run from Salt Lake City to the Glenwood Springs/Aspen area. I did this recently and saved about $400 compared with the airfare to my destination, Montrose, Colo. And when my train arrived, I learned that fog had canceled that morning's flight to the nearby airport. Amtrak's food was also a lot better than the airline's rubber chicken, and I loved the scenery from the lounge car. On longer trips, try to schedule last-minute meetings around a weekend. Many carriers offer very reasonable last-minute weekend fares requiring you to depart on Friday or Saturday and return on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Some are Internet-only fares, while others can also be booked by phone. Where are these bargains? Your travel agent, calls to the airlines, Web sites and even airline ticket agents just might be able to find a way out. You may be able to save hundreds of dollars by checking around. And there's always Priceline.com. Just remember that if you miss a Priceline flight you will have to meet very strict conditions to get any money back. My daughter missed a flight because she had to go to the hospital with a knee injury. Even though she was on crutches, Priceline wouldn't give her a refund. LAST-MINUTE OPTIONS What happens when there appears to be no way out? Before shelling out big bucks for a last-minute ticket, consider these possibilities: If you are a college student or professor, Council Travel offers last- minute fares that are comparable to many discounted advance purchase tickets. Companies such as Cheap Tickets also specialize in last-minute discount fares. Before selecting these alternatives, keep in mind that you can save considerably if you are willing to consider airports like Chicago Midway, Baltimore or other non-hub cities. Milwaukee is often a better deal than Chicago's O'Hare. For example, it can be $300 cheaper to fly to Manchester, N.H., and drive 28 miles to Boston than to purchase a nonstop ticket to New England's major hub. And before embarking on a trip across the country, you might ask your meeting partner if they would like to meet you in Lake Tahoe, Santa Fe or San Diego. They will enjoy a wonderful working holiday and you, of course, will save a fortune on the airfare thanks to reasonably priced, last-minute tickets available on these Western routes. THOSE LAST MINUTE BOOKINGS Here's a sample of what it would cost to book a round-trip flight on Feb= =20 28, leaving yesterday and returning today. Carrier Route Fare United SFO to Chicago-O'Hare, nonstop $2441.00 United Oakland to Chicago-O'Hare, nonstop $2409.50 American Trans Air SFO to Chicago-Midway, nonstop $400.50 Southwest Oakland to Chicago-Midway (1 stop) $758.50 Frontier SFO to Chicago-Midway (1 stop) $673.50 Vanguard SFO to Chicago-Midway (1 stop) $373.50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle