Uneasy fliers, economic woes portend cheap tickets By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY Travel jitters and a poor economy are translating into cheap airfares around Sept. 11 and beyond, a boon to bargain hunters and a bane to airlines. The fare-cutting comes amid an industry downturn that could push more airlines into bankruptcy court. Already, US Airways has filed, and United Airlines has said a filing is possible this fall. "The whole month is bad for airlines," says Tom Parsons, CEO of Bestfares.com. "The deals not only include Sept. 11, but go past it." Causing trouble for airlines: Weak bookings. Sept. 11 bookings are off 25% so far from a normal Wednesday on Orbitz, a top travel-booking Internet site. Some airlines have cut their flight schedules because of expected low demand that day. Traveler fears. A Travelocity poll of 1,000 travelers found 20% either are too afraid to fly or are still nervous about flying nearly a year after Sept. 11. Fare cuts. The lowest fares were cheaper on Sept. 11 than the week before, according to a study conducted by FareChase for USA TODAY, on 18 of 20 popular domestic and international routes checked. Prices stay the same or lower the following week. While fares are generally cheaper on bookings made further in advance, the traditional end of the vacation season and a weak economy that has hurt demand are exacerbating the decline. Although airlines are not holding official fare sales for the week of Sept. 8, "There's definitely the opportunity to get a low fare," says Mike Sands, Orbitz's chief marketing officer. Low fares are contributing to airline industry losses expected at upward of $6 billion this year. To eke out more revenue, airlines such as US Airways have tightened restrictions on cheap tickets. And United announced new steps Thursday that include higher prices for class upgrades and additional charges for paper tickets. United said it will stop issuing paper tickets in the USA by July 2003 and issue only electronic tickets by January 2004. Sept. 11 is expected to be such a slack travel day that two small carriers, Spirit and National, gave away or charged $1 for tickets that day. Fear of another attack coupled with the end of vacation season should make for bargains galore in early fall. "This is a slow time of year for airlines. You can almost set your watch to the fare sales they are going to have," says Thom Nulty, president of travel agency chain Navigant International. Parsons says $198 coast-to-coast round trips are being offered in some markets. Airfares are cheap, too, to Mexican resorts and Europe. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (MBH) http://maracasbay.com/ (Maracas Bay Hotel) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************