=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/news/archive/2003/04/09/f= inancial0946EDT0042.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, April 9, 2003 (AP) Big airlines start to push one-way fares ELEENA DE LISSER, The Wall Street Journal (04-09) 06:46 PDT (AP) -- Conventional wisdom says one-way tickets are the worst deal ever. Traditionally pricey, they also have a reputation for triggering extra scrutiny at security checkpoints. But in recent weeks, prices for one-way tickets have been falling sharply -- and, despite the slump in overall airline traffic, travelers are snapping them up. Orbitz says one-way sales increased 3 percent last month. LastMinuteTravel.com says sales have risen by "double digits" since mid-March, when the hostilities in Iraq became imminent. By contrast, overall industry bookings were down as much as 10 percent late last month, according to a major trade group. Part of the explanation is that travelers are buying one-way tickets in = an effort to maximize their travel flexibility amid uncertainties like war and airline bankruptcies. They are more likely to be refundable, but even if they aren't, they have fewer restrictions than economy round-trips. (No Saturday-night stay required, because, of course, you haven't bought a round-trip.) One-way tickets "allow you to mix and match your airlines with the best rates," says Joe Leader, an Atlanta-based tech-company executive. He recently traveled from San Jose, Calif., to Atlanta for $137 with no advance notice. Prices are tumbling right now because airlines are struggling to win back business travelers, who are increasingly fed up with paying top dollar to fly at the last minute. The major carriers are also being forced to respond to intense pressure from discount airlines like Southwest and JetBlue, which routinely offer low-cost one-way trips. As the current crop of low-cost carriers add new routes, the full-service airlines are fighting back by cutting their own one-way prices. Delta Air Lines, for instance, recently slashed one-way fares between Los Angeles and Atlanta to as low as $99, starting in late May, from a current $760. That's in response to discount carrier AirTran Airways' plan to start flying that route in June. In fact, the big carriers may be testing the new pricing as part of their research into launching their own low-cost carriers. Both Delta and United recently announced plans to start discount airlines. Last month, UAL's United Airlines said its new business-fare structure, which includes one-way fares that are up to 40 percent lower than previous prices, is generating as much as $25 million in new revenue a month. On Monday, Delta announced a new one-way fare sale, and several carriers quickly matched it. A one-way fare with no advance purchase from Dallas to Philadelphia on American, an AMR Corp. unit, is currently $553, down from $1,245 earlier this year. But finding the cheapest one-way fare can require some sleuthing. When low-price one-way tickets are offered on a major airline, often they are "capacity controlled," meaning that only a few seats on the plane actually qualify for that fare. Once they're gone, they're gone, even if the rest of the plane is empty. In addition, not all tickets marketed as "one way" are true one-way tickets: Some carriers will actually make you buy a round trip to get the lowest fare. Occasionally, the best prices are lurking at alternative airports. For example, American flies from New York to Long Beach, Calif., which is only 17 miles from Los Angeles, for $107. By contrast, American's one-way fare from New York directly to Los Angeles is $1,141. (Low-cost JetBlue also flies the Long Beach route -- but not Los Angeles.) Sabre Holdings Corp.'s Travelocity.com, the online travel agent, has not= ed particular sales increases of one-way tickets to cities like Denver, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. A few travel Web sites require extra steps to buy one-ways. At USAirways.com, for instance, click "other options" on the home page to book a one-way flight. Even when one-way fares aren't actually cheaper, some travelers say payi= ng extra is now worth it to lock in the flexibility. John Goldwater, a software salesman from Orange County, Calif., who flies 250,000 miles a year and finds himself changing his travel plans frequently, currently buys only one-way tickets. His goal: Dodge the onerous "use it or lose it" rules, implemented by most airlines last year, which can make a ticket worthless if you don't use it on its intended dates. "It just became common sense," he says. Many travelers assume one-way tickets are a red flag at security checkpoints. The government won't say if it's a factor, although with the use of one-way tickets on the rise, it's somewhat less likely to carry the stigma of unusual behavior. But worries like that are secondary to hard-core road warriors like Dean Burri of Rock Hill, S.C., a Delta frequent flier who travels 220 days a year. Three weeks ago he started buying one-way, refundable tickets on Continental Airlines just as a backup in case his preferred flight on Delta got canceled -- which is increasingly happening as the airlines cut services to save money. "It was first one flight than another," says Mr. Burri, who sells insurance to nuns and priests. Time and again, his strategy has paid off. So, for a coming trip to Minnesota, Mr. Burri intends to do it again. Delta, he says, has been trimming service to Minneapolis, and "one thing you don't want to do is stand up eight nuns." Some Deals * US Airways Pittsburgh-San Francisco Previously: $856 Now: $89 * United Airlines Chicago-Syracuse Previously: $689 Now: $179 * Delta Air Lines Atlanta-Los Angeles Now: $760 Starting in May: $99 Source: BestFares.com =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP