Reduced airfares to extend into 2009

Air travelers will have an extended opportunity to fly at reduced fares, until March 6 of 2009 on Southwest Airlines. The previous deadline was January 9.

This extended schedule, featuring reduced fares, has forced most other major carriers in the U.S. to join in, including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways.

It is being recommended that travelers monitor discounts on other carriers as well, including low-cost carriers such as AirTran, Frontier Airlines, Jetblue, Spirit and Virgin America – and to be aware of booking requirements. For example, most airlines in the U.S. permit reservations up to 330 days prior to the day of travel. Southwest, however, accepts reservations up to 200 days in advance of a flight.

What this shorter booking window means is that many of the major airlines that compete on routes served by Southwest will only match Southwest’s lower fares to the end of the window. It is common practice for carriers with lengthier booking windows to charge significantly higher fares for dates that are farther out. This means that booking as far in advance as possible does not necessarily guarantee the lowest airfare, according to a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines.

www.southwest.com