"The cheapest coach fares on many routes are half the price of a few months ago...."

From the USA Today: "The weak economy may be bringing sky-high airfares down to earth.

With passenger demand for flights dropping, many airlines in recent weeks have instituted fare sales, and competitors have matched the lower prices."

Included is a chart of some popular routes and the now plunging airfares.

As one comment notes:

"Well, well, well...so ticket demand is going down...maybe those a**-holes running the airlines will finally figure out that screwing their customers over time and time again with bag fees, pillow fees and other "add-on" garbage fees is starting to come around and bite them in the butt."

Lots of cruise bargains through end of the year

"Though other areas of travel - casino gambling, transatlantic flights - may have taken a bigger hit from the current economic slowdown, there's no doubt that cruises have also been heavily affected. The drop in cruise bookings has been so pronounced that cruise discounting today is more frequent than in recent memory. Not only the popularly priced lines (like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC), but the more elegant lines one step up (like Holland America, Princess, Celebrity) have begun discounting their rates with a vengeance."


From Arthur Frommer's November 2, 2008 syndicated column.

Cruising is good living. Our most relaxing vacations have always been cruising. Prices are better than we have seen in six years. Planning a vacation next year? Looking for real value?
Consider a cruise.

A great place to shop for cruise deals is our web site www.planetravelonline.com.

One final question about airline fees

From the Consumerists comments about the Greg Dean United gouging fees story:

"Ironic part, though, these airlines keep installing idiotic and pointless fees in an effort to make more money, and yet they constantly fail to be profitable. You would think that with this kind of gouging, they could make money flying the damn planes.

Which begs the questions, where does all this fee money go? It doesn't go to the pilots, stewardesses or mechanics, who have had their pay slashed to ribbons in the past few decades. It doesn't go to the planes, which are old and usually in bad repair. It doesn't go to the gas, which is cheap. It doesn't go to the stockholders, because the stock is shit. I wonder what happens to it all."

Airlines as a whole have only made money in two years since 2002. The business model old or new just doesn't seem to working.

Well a difference in opinion about airline fees United adds $800 in fees to a $560 trip

We caught this USA Today article that reports a survey a majority of passengers are willing to accept cheap fares with a la cart fees. More than half of US air travelers now prefer buying the cheapest available ticket, then paying fees for "extras" such as food and drink, preferred seating and checking bags.

Perhaps something is skewed in the survey methodology. Just ask Greg Dean who has sworn off United Airlines because the amount of a la cart fees for his Austin to Sacramento flights.
From the Consumerist: We have a feeling this is going to happen with increasing frequency as airlines continue to bleed once-loyal customers for extra revenue: Greg Dean, the cartoonist behind Real Life Comics, has had enough of United gouging him.

Airline Checked Baggage Fees....Well Maybe It Wasn't Such A Great Idea After All

From the Wall Street Journal news that not only is United Airlines dropping a planned second check bag fee ($50.00) but is actually discounting the first checked bag fee in the next three months. United's change of heart comes in the wake of Delta Airline's announcement that they were going to impose a first checked bag fee just three days ago. Meanwhile Southwest Airlines announced that they not only are increasing capacity, but also increased the number of passengers flown in October. Guess which airline has shunned the increased fee mania prevalent in the other U.S. airlines?

Disney theme park bookings down

Disney had positioned itself for the upcoming recession by value pricing some vacations. However, as a reflection of worsening economy it reported today declined bookings for its theme parks. Click on the above link to read the entire story from Yahoo Finance.

Delta adds $15 Check Baggage Fee

Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest carrier, said Wednesday it will impose a $15 fee to check a first bag for customers flying within the U.S.

The carrier also said it is cutting certain other fees as it aligns its policies with those of Northwest Airlines, which it acquired last week.

Link from the International Herald Tribune

Our new site features casino day trips to St Louis from Springfield, Illinois

Simple and easy to use our latest web site features upcoming day trips to the casinos in St Louis. Featuring our first trip next week, Tuesday, November 11, 2008. A last minute try out as we sense a need in the market for a cheap quick getaway. Most trips feature lunch or cash refunds. We will be listing more trips later as we update our contracts.

Every group member gets a free copy of our Insider Gambling Guide.

Join us and good luck.

$13.00 fares to Europe!!!!

According to published reports Ryanair plans to offer deeply discounted transatlantic flights in 2009. Purchase early and the savings are substantial. Just $13.00.