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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Con Hitchcock
Aired July 21, 2002 - 07:49 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you feel like taking a trip? Travelers take note, airline tickets now on sale. Major carriers cut fares by 35 percent or more late this week, despite their heavy losses right now. So how can you take advantage of these bargain basement prices?
Well, let's ask Con Hitchcock of Orbitz.com. That's O-r-b-i-t-z. He joins us from Washington. Good to see you, Con.
CON HITCHCOCK, ORBITZ.COM: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: First of all, why on earth would the airlines be cutting prices that drastically right now? They must be really against the ropes?
HITCHCOCK: They are. This is a little bit like department stores cutting prices and having sales just before Christmas. What they're trying to do is fill up some empty seats, as the summer is upon us. And they're looking ahead into August and September and seeing empty seats. And in the fare war that was kicked off by U.S. Airways last week, in some limited markets, and the majors begin to match across the board.
It's terrific news for travelers. On average, fares are about where they were 15 years ago. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'BRIEN: Wow, wow. Let's take a look. We've put a little graphic together, showing some of the examples of some of the fares that are out there right now. Norfolk to Tampa, $79. Philadelphia, Seattle, $289. Charlotte to Miami, $131. Denver, Rochester, $247. L.A. to Pittsburgh, $309. Quite -- actually quite a range there, but still, all in all, pretty good prices when you consider where you're going and how far you're traveling.
But I'm curious, is these those fares that about 97 strings attached? You got to stay overnight on a Saturday? It's got to be partly cloudy. You've got to rent a car from a certain company? And you know, you fly back down there with the kennels.
HITCHCOCK: Yes, these are the discount fares that tend to be available like Monday through Thursday. You have to stay over Saturday. And you do have to purchase several weeks in advance. But you know, Miles, this business is so volatile and fares change, I went to Orbitz just before we went on and actually found two of those fares actually been lowered, depending on some days that you travel.
O'BRIEN: Well...
HITCHCOCK: So these are sample fares, not necessarily what you find every flight.
O'BRIEN: Which really brings me to the nub of problem. You know, no matter how many times you check, you get different answers every time, whether you call, you go to the web, the fares change every time. How do you know when to, you know, lock in?
HITCHCOCK: Well, a lot of people are looking for the lowest fare. And for many of us, it's sort of like the Lochness Monster. You know it's out there, but you're not sure that you're going to find it. I mean, one of the things to do is to sort of use your best judgment in terms of when you find a fare that's low enough, that you think you could live with, and lock in at that point.
Usually the best advice is buying several weeks in advance, as soon as you know, and can lock in. Sometimes you'll do better if you wait until the last moment, but then again, the flights that you want and the flexibility you want may just not be there.
O'BRIEN: All right.
HITCHCOCK: It's really a matter of trading off how much time you can spend doing it.
O'BRIEN: And meanwhile, for business travelers, the airlines will continue their gouging campaign?
HITCHCOCK: Well, actually, one of the reasons why the average fares are so low is because the airlines have not been to charge some of those $2,000 walk up fares that you absolutely, positively have to be in Cleveland tomorrow. You also have America West, for example, that took the lead in trying to get more business travel by cutting some of the restrictions, like Saturday night stay and that sort of thing.
And I mean, with business budgets having been cut back at a number of companies, airlines are doing what they can to get business travelers going. So you may not find relief in each market that you're looking at, but the fares are better than they were not long ago.
O'BRIEN: It is, I got to admit, I've been in this situation where I've been on a jammed flight, stuck in a center seat. My ticket is, you know, $2,000 plus to get out, because we book at the last minute. The person next to me paid $80. You know, it's -- do the airlines care about this at all?
HITCHCOCK: They're aware of it. I mean, what you're really dealing with here is a situation where the market isn't static. It's very dynamic. You have to sort of try to make your best judgment when to go in, when to lock in the fare. There is some frustration about that. I mean, one of the advantages of the Internet these days, which has been a great tool for a lot of people, is that you get more discount fares. You get some savings out there that you wouldn't get if you just know some of the rules ahead of time, like book in advance, be flexible, those help.
Also, with the Internet, you now have web fares that are available for last minute travel. So if you're not finding anything you want, if you're flexible, if you want to wait to the last moment, maybe there will be something there. I wouldn't do that if I were going to a wedding or college graduation, and had to be there a specific time, but you never know.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well tell me about the general outlook for the airline industry? There knee deep in red ink once again. What do you see ahead?
HITCHCOCK: Well, the joke in the airline business is that you -- ought to be believe in the airline's accounting because nobody would manufacture financial numbers this bad. The illusion...
O'BRIEN: No Enrons here.
HITCHCOCK: ...they're losing money hand over fist, largely, I think, as a result of the recession. Also, you have the fall off in traffic after September 11. So the projection is that the airlines are not going to be back to last year's level, probably through the end of next year. There's going to be a lot of red ink. And that's why this is a very good time for travelers. Frankly, if I had a choice these days between buying an airline ticket and buying stocks, I'd put my money in airline tickets.
O'BRIEN: All right, Con Hitchcock is with Orbitz.com. Let's take a look at the web site very quickly as we say good-bye to him. We've got it right up there right now as a matter of fact. No, the machine's broken. Never mind. Well, we would've brought it up. It's Orbitz.com. We'd love to show it to you. Just pretend it's radio for just a moment.
Anyway, good to have you with us, Con.
HITCHCOCK: My pleasure, Miles. Have a good day.
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