....With the value of the Euro against USD$ travel to Europe this summer is gonna be pretty soft. Airlines are gonna find selling seats a pretty tough sell to Europe. Two years ago when the Euro was about .82 to the American dollar prices were reasonable, but now, what is it, abut $1.27 or so! I really like traveling in Europe, but the value of the $$ precludes any plans for this destination, no matter how cheap the airfare might be! If we go somewhere this summer, it won't be Europe--- Bryant Petitt Cumming, GA Bill Hough <psa188@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > =20 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > This article was sent to you by someone who found it > on SFGate. > The original article can be found on SFGate.com > here: > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/04/14/f= > inancial0946EDT0047.DTL > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Wednesday, April 14, 2004 (AP) > Airlines limit cheap seats to Europe > SCOTT MCCARTNEY, The Wall Street Journal > > > (04-14) 06:46 PDT (AP) -- > If you want a cheap vacation this summer, go see > the Liberty Bell. But if > you want to listen to Big Ben, that other famous > bell cast at the > Whitechapel Bell Foundry, airfares are going to be > steep. > It's shaping up to be a very busy travel season > this summer, and airline= > s, > for a change, are jumping on the chance to bank > higher airfares. Unlike > past years, when deep-discount sales covered the > summer season, early > sales this year have often excluded travel between > mid-June to mid-August. > Peak-season tickets to some regions, especially > Europe, are likely to be > more expensive than they have been in three or four > years. A Chicago-Rome > round trip over the Fourth of July weekend was > priced Tuesday at a > whopping $1,720 for non-stop flights on AMR Corp.'s > American Airlines. > But don't despair; there will still be lots of > airfare bargains available > -- domestically, at least. > With lots of competition in transcontinental > markets, trips from one coa= > st > to another will be a bargain. Florida and the > Caribbean, which can be > popular destinations year-round, have lots of > capacity and competition, > which should yield cheap fares all summer. And with > a flock of discount > carriers including Southwest Airlines descending on > Philadelphia, travel > to that city will be particularly cheap. > Overall, airlines say that traffic picked up > measurably in the second ha= > lf > of March, and bookings have been strong so far. You > can see that strength > in how they are currently pricing summer-season > tickets. A Chicago-London > round trip leaving May 20 is $497 on American > Airlines. Leaving June 20 > will cost at least 83 percent more -- the lowest > price on the same round > trip is $909. On Delta Air Lines, the summer price > more than doubles for a > Boston-Paris round trip, to $1,247 for a June 20 > departure, compared with > $614 for a May 20 departure. > The upshot for travelers is that it probably is > best to buy early this > year rather than hope for last-minute fare sales. > Prices domestically are > already attractive. And on trans-Atlantic flights, > carriers seem > determined to stick with their high summer fares, > fare watchers say. "They > can always have a late sale and blow it out if > tickets don't sell. But so > far, they're protecting the summer seats. They're > hoping to make big bucks > this year," says Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com. > One example of that: In January and February, > Continental Airlines offer= > ed > no seats at all in its five lowest-fare categories > between Newark, N.J., > and Paris for travel in June, July and August, Mr. > Parsons says. > U.S. airlines desperately need a profitable > summer. Most have suffered > huge losses for the past three years, and are > saddled this year with very > high fuel prices. J.P. Morgan just widened its > estimate of first-quarter > operating losses for the airline industry to $900 > million from $300 > million. For some carriers, any chance of earning > profits for the full > year rests on flying full planes at high prices this > summer. > Trans-Atlantic travel is one area where profits > for airlines should be > high. Capacity increases on the North Atlantic this > summer will be modest > -- in the 5 percent to 10 percent range compared > with last summer, > according to Craig Jenks, president of > Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc., a > consulting firm that tracks trans-Atlantic capacity. > Most of the added seats have been aimed at > strengthening alliances betwe= > en > airlines -- cautiously connecting a European hub to > a U.S. hub, rather > than opening new cities. Delta Air Lines, for > example, is starting new > service between its Cincinnati hub and Amsterdam, > home of its new partner, > KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Northwest Airlines, also a > KLM partner, is > adding a third daily flight from Minneapolis to > Amsterdam. As a result, > Amsterdam does offer some relative bargains over > many European trips > currently priced at $1,000 or more. Delta's fare for > the > Cincinnati-Amsterdam nonstop in mid-June is $874 > round trip, compared with > the carrier's Cincinnati-London nonstop, priced at > $1,073 for the same > dates. > At the same time that seat additions overall will > be modest, demand is > likely to be very strong. The weak dollar is making > the U.S. a bargain for > European travelers. So both U.S. and European > carriers expect heavy demand > for tickets from Europeans headed to the U.S. And > though the dollar makes > Europe in turn more expensive for Americans, pent-up > demand is expected to > outweigh the added cost. After three relatively slow > summers, "the market > is due an upswing," says Mr. Jenks. > If you just have to go to Europe, start with > London, which is generally > cheaper to get to than Continental Europe. (It > should be, it's closer to > the U.S.) From there, high-speed trains and discount > European carriers > like Ryanair and easyJet offer good, cheap service > to many destinations. > For bargain hunters, this may be a year to > explore North America. Domest= > ic > airfares still should be relatively cheap because of > the growing reach of > discount airlines. American, for example, says > low-fare carriers now > compete on more than 80 percent of its domestic > route network. And > incumbent carriers like American also have been > adding seats to markets, > trying to beat back new insurgents. > In the third quarter this year, which covers much > of the peak summer > season, airline capacity between New York and San > Diego will be 94 percent > higher than the year-earlier period, according to > J.P. Morgan. Boston-Los > Angeles will be 91 percent higher. Travel deals > should be plentiful. > Analysts expect Southwest to bring back a broad > summer sale at least once > before Memorial Day. The low-fare carrier had a > large sale in place for > several weeks, offering round-trip tickets anywhere > it flies for no more > than $198 through Sept. 19, but that expired last > week. Southwest said its > recent sales pushed its March load factor, the > percentage of seats filled, > to 73.6 percent -- a record for Southwest -- and > triggered strong bookings > through May. > Most airlines matched Southwest's prices on > competing routes for summer > travel, but one carrier has held out hope for more > expensive pricing > domestically. Continental matched Southwest's deeply > discounted prices > only through June 11, betting it won't have to sell > seats so cheaply this > summer. > With Southwest, Frontier Airlines, AirTran > Airways and America West > Airlines all competing or lining up to compete in > Philadelphia this summer > -- and US Airways Group Inc. aggressively matching > prices === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html