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CNN Live At Daybreak

Finding the Best Airline Rates

Aired July 03, 2001 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: You know that summer is not normally the best time to get good fares if you're traveling. But apparently there are bargains to be had out there. That's according to Tom Parsons, who is from Bestfares.com. And he joins us now with more on this.

Tom, you say it's a buyer's market right now. What's going on?

TOM PARSONS, BESTFARES.COM: Oh, it's -- I think the primary reason we're seeing so many good deals is that the business travel, those high-paying passengers, not are not flying.

They're down by 30 or 40 percent. And John Q. Public is not going to pay $700 to fly coast-to-coast. So that's forced it down to be where now we're seeing coast-to-coast fares for $198 good until December 8. This could be from -- you have to be careful in the airports. Like, Washington, D.C. could still be $400 to Western part of the United States, where Baltimore, which is only 39 miles away, is $198.

The same thing with Boston; you go out of Providence. There's tons of cities -- Seattle to Orlando, which you just talked about -- and, as a matter of fact, if you can take off between August 13 and September 30 -- and with you talking about great airport in Orlando, which I do like myself -- you're looking at Orlando and Tampa and Fort Lauderdale from Boston and New York City and Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and $98 round-trip.

And cities like Nashville, and New Orleans and Raleigh and Birmingham: as low as 78 bucks round-trip.

MCEDWARDS: You know, and that's -- you say that that's partly because the business travel is down. But how can airlines afford to do this? All we've been hearing all summer is about higher fuel costs, some expensive labor settlements with the airlines. How can they do this?

PARSONS: Well, you've got to remember the airlines have been in their heyday probably for the last four or five years. The economy has been good. But, again. John Q. Public woke up in February or March and found out their 401(k)s were about 35 percent poorer.

And John Q. Public, they're discretionary. They'll go when there's a good deal. I think the airlines are looking at the fact that it's better to put a person on a plane for 39 bucks each way than get no bucks at all. And that's what we're seeing. And we're seeing it all over the USA and also Europe and probably all around the world.

MCEDWARDS: It all comes down to economics. Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com, thanks very much for your time this morning.

PARSONS: Well, thank you.

MCEDWARDS: Check it out.

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