FARE GAME
How Low Can They Go?
CoGo was startled to discover that, lately, it's almost cheaper to travel than to stay home. What's up with some of those crazy airfares we've been seeing?
The discount carriers, who are fighting both the majors and one another for market share, started the sale ball rolling, and US Airways, United and other carriers responded. For example, BWI to Grand Bahama Island went as low as $98 round trip (plus $37 in taxes) on AirTran during a mid-August sale. Spirit had a $156 round-trip fare from Reagan National to San Juan, Puerto Rico. US Airways went a step further, offering across-the-board discounts to islands throughout the Caribbean.
Discounters also offered coast-to-coast deals for as low as $89 each way -- JetBlue, for example, still has fares of under $200 (including taxes) to Sacramento and Oakland,Calif. Now Florida and closer-to-home sales are heating up. Fort Lauderdale is a top deal: Fly round trip on Ted, United's discount carrier, for $117 including taxes (sale ends Aug. 31). Independence Air's systemwide sale, good through Aug. 30, has knocked fares almost cheaper than driving. For example, it has a base fare of $29 each way to Pittsburgh.
As for Europe, several airlines have dipped their toes into fall fare sales -- Aer Lingus's round-trip fare to Shannon or Dublin in Ireland is $351 -- but few have gone rock-bottom. Yet.
CoGo's advice: Keep abreast of sales by signing up for e-mail alerts at airline Web sites, independent sites such as Travelzoo.com and all-purpose sites like Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz. And be ready to buy: Many sales last for only a day or two.
CALL SECURITY
The Waiting Game
The Transportation Security Administration is now reporting average and maximum wait times at security checkpoints at concourses across America.
The data -- available at waittime.tsa.dhs.gov--can't tell you when to leave home, because it offers no clue about traffic and such. Still, it's a handy piece of info.
At the site, pick an airport, a day of the week and a flight time, and the site will report relevant average wait times. It also shows the maximum wait. Beware: That's not a guarantee, just a historical record of the past month. Security agents test wait times by giving time-stamped cards to people at the end of a line, then record when the card holders arrive at the front.
