Jaunted - Tag: Fare Wars

Southwest Launches a Doozy of a Nationwide Sale

JetSetCD — 2009-02-24T18:31:10-05:00

Do you know what you're doing in June? We don't either because we enjoy the thrill of last-minute jetting, but if Southwest Airlines' massive fare sale has anything to say about it, we may end up baking under the early summer sun in Florida.

Having just launched one of their biggest airfare sales ever this morning, Southwest is aiming for full flights and happy passengers through early summer with their one-way deals. According to the Star-Telegram, this blowout is unprecedented for the airline as it coveres nationwide destinations, continues through the peak travel period of June, and it is the airline's "first sale of the year to include cities in Florida, which suggests that leisure travel to beach destinations is slipping."

It's also noteworthy that this is Southwest's fifth fare sale so far this year, and February hasn't even finished. In time like these, however, too many sales are still never enough and so if this deal doesn't get the masses booking, then at least it will have many supercharging their trip plans for late summer; the "staycation" needs to die.

Related Stories
· Southwest's Nationwide Sale [Official Site]
· Southwest Launches Fare Sale, Includes Florida, Early Summer [Star-Telegram]
· Airfare Sales Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: lycia-online.com]

Oh, It's On Now: Southwest Fires First Shot in Air Fare War

Victor Ozols — 2009-01-24T11:39:44-05:00

Well, somebody had to be the first. Scrappy Southwest Airlines triggered a massive air fare war on Friday by announcing super-cheap seats to almost everywhere it flies for travel before March 11, 2009. As the AP points out, its competitors swiftly followed suit, with American, Continental, JetBlue, and Delta slashing their own prices to match Southwest's fares, which start at $49 to $99 each way. Even U.S. Airways, the company that literally walks on water, jumped into the bargain bin. (So much for the Sullenberger Bump.) We reckon that the airline executives who lowered their prices did so reluctantly, and are probably a little miffed at Southwest for forcing their hands. Nonetheless, with both business and leisure travel declining along with the economy, it'll take some serious savings to keep people flying through the recession. Maybe this will work. Of course, pain for the airlines equals opportunities for everyone else, so we're definitely going to scan the schedules to see if we can afford to fly someplace warm for a little late-winter attitude adjustment.

[Photo: lycia-online.com]

Related Stories
· Southwest Triggers Sales on Late-Winter Fares [AP via Yahoo! News]
· Fare War Coverage [Jaunted]

New Routes: V Australia Now Eyeing Africa

pbb — 2008-07-23T08:59:44-05:00

V Australia doesn't make its inaugural flight to the United States until December, but that won't be enough, it seems. The long-haul carrier has applied with the Australian government to fly the Sydney-Johannesburg route, starting October 2009.

The flights, currently only available on Qantas or South African Airways, would be the first foray into Africa for the start-up. It spilled its plans in a governmental filing:

V Australia proposes to commence services between Sydney and Johannesburg with five weekly services with effect from October 2009. V Australia will operate these services utilizing 361 seat B777-300ER aircraft.

So how much is jet fuel gonna cost by fall 2009?

Related Stories:
· V Australia Applies for Africa Route [eTravelBlackboard]
· New Routes: More from the Land Down Under [Jaunted]
· V Australia coverage [Jaunted]

New Routes: More from the Land Down Under

kjb — 2008-07-07T09:08:12-05:00

We're still months away from V Australia's inaugural flight, but that won't stop the big V from shaking things up. Richard Branson's latest carrier apparently isn't scared of a little healthy competition.

While we were enjoying Independence Day, V Australia was announcing new routes. Brisbane to Los Angeles will start on March 1, 2009 and will operate three days a week. Seats in the back of the plane will start at A$2,087 ($2,006)--about a cool A$1,000 less than the price of the same trip on Qantas.

Even the comfy business class seats are going for less than the country's oldest carrier. But hey, when you're facing high fuel costs you got to do what you got to do, even if you aren't rockin' the new A380.

Related Stories:
· Pacific Airfare Wars Hit Top Gear [Melbourne Herald Sun]
· Qantas Hyping Super-Cheap Transpacific Fares on A380s [Jaunted]
· V Australia coverage [Jaunted]

Qantas Hyping Super-Cheap Transpacific Fares

pbb — 2008-06-18T10:35:01-05:00

Qantas doesn't plan to let V Australia steal away its customers when Richard Branson's newest airline takes flight December 15. So the old-line Aussie carrier is hyping some great fares on its A380 flights between LA and both Melbourne and Sydney.

Qantas says it's selling tickets for as little as $380 round-trip on flights departing between November 2 and December 8. But as far as we can tell, those super-cheap tickets are already gone.

We did find an LAX-Melbourne round trip in November for $1,215. Not less than 400 bucks, but that's certainly not bad! If you're willing to spend a bit more, A380 service between the US and Oz starts on October 20.

Related Stories:
· Qantas Strikes First in Virgin Price War [SMH]
· Fare Wars coverage [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Naddsy]

Bus Travel: The $1 Fare Wars Continue

pbb — 2008-05-15T14:30:01-05:00

You know about Megabus. You know about BoltBus. But now Greyhound wants a piece of the $1 promo fare action, too. And not content to just offer short hops for a buck, the bus company is selling tickets between Toronto and New York for as little as $1 each way. Crazy.

We know what you're thinking: I wouldn't spend nine minutes on a Greyhound bus, let alone nine hours. But these special NeOn coaches will be tricked out with video entertainment, power plugs and free WiFi. One would hope the bus bathrooms will be working, too.

Obviously, this is a promotional price, though from May 22-25 every seat is going for $1. If you book in a hurry, you'll still be able to lock in fares as low as a buck for departures later this summer.

Related Stories:
· NeOn Booking Page [Official Site, via]
· First Person Bus Reviews: BoltBus [Jaunted]
· Fare Wars: Buses Battle for Your Stripper Money [Jaunted]

V Australia: Taking off December 15

pbb — 2008-03-31T08:38:55-05:00

Last week we asked, "Is V Australia about to officially announce LAX-SYD service at a press conference?" Turns out, yes. The newest carrier from Richard Branson will go wheels up on December 15, 2008.

The super-cheap promo fares for the first few days are already sold out, but you can still get some incredible deals in December. We found a round trip for $1,747, while Kayak reports the cheapest non-stop Qantas fare for the same dates is $2,582.

In addition to great fares, V Australia has also released cabin details. In coach, seat pitch is 32 inches with a recline of 6 inches, and every seat will have a 9-inch screen for on-demand in-flight entertainment. And if you need or want to stay online, the airline's 777s will have cell phone connectivity, letting you SMS and browse the Internet on your GSM device. What, no in-flight WiFi?

Related Stories:
· Virgin Launches Flights between Sydney and Los Angeles [AP, via IHT]
· V Australia Cabin Details [Official Site]
· Calculated Speculation: V Australia Edition [Jaunted]
· V Australia coverage [Jaunted]