Airfares are starting to inch back up
Airfares are starting to inch back up, signs indicate, even on the prices of tickets on sale.
Southwest (LUV), the nation’s leader in low-cost flying, this week introduced a sale on fares with prices on some routes higher than the lowest fares customers have come to expect.
They included a $118 round trip between Phoenix and San Diego and $296 between Baltimore and Los Angeles.
While “not really that bad,” Tom Parsons of BestFares.com says, the fares are higher than the historical range of Southwest’s sale prices.
Southwest traditionally has set the floor on coast-to-coast fares that are on sale at $99 one way and $198 round trip. The airline’s website now lists new coast-to-coast bottom fares at $149 and $298, respectively.
Frontier and AirTran (AAI), Southwest’s low-cost competitors, have also increased sale fares on some routes by $10 each way.
Parsons says the days of rock-bottom fares appear to have ended.
“The writing is on the wall,” says Parsons, whose website monitors prices. “We had nine months of great travel bargains in 2009. Air travelers will be paying much more (in 2010) than they did in early 2009, as much as 50% more.”
Travel website Travelocity also has detected signs that fares are no longer dropping.
Fares booked for fall travel in mid-September were 14% lower than a year ago — down from the 15% year-over-year drop in fares in July, Travelocity’s bookings show.
Genevieve Brown of Travelocity says indications are that “prices are stabilizing.”
Many Southwest fares remain lower than the current discounts being offered. But the new fare sale is a far cry from some of the deep discounts offered over the summer.
In July, Southwest lowered fares to $30 for short-haul flights and coast-to-coast flights $80 each way.
Behind stable or higher fares: Airlines say they’re starting to see the prospect of an increase in demand for travel at the same time they’re cutting supply by offering fewer seats to cut costs.
North American carriers saw international travel demand fall 2.5% from a year ago compared with a 3.2% year-over-year decline in July, according to the International Air Transport Association. At the same time, airlines scheduled 6% fewer seats on domestic flights in August compared with a year ago, according to OAG-The Official Airline Guide OAG.
IT IS SNOWING AGAIN IN COLORADO!!
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So here it is October 1st and we are already getting snow accumulated on the ground and peaks!! The Aspens have not even had a chance to drop their leaves yet! In the past week and a half we have received several inches and the snows we are getting again today show no signs of letting up. What does this mean to you? It means that if you have not started planning your winter vacation then you may have already waited to long… There are still many great deals in the market right now on accommodations but with the snows continuing to come and national television reporting them all signs point to 100% occupancy for Summit County during peak times. Those guests who make Colorado a yearly destination know that the deals in the market right now are not going to last past Oct. and many of them have already made early bookings. Take a moment to look at the pictures taken from our office this very morning, take your gear to your local shop and get it tuned and waxed and get your reservations made to come see us in the mountains this winter so we can cut some fresh tracks together!!!
Summit County Colorado Real Estate
Greetings from Summit County! Arapahoe Basin and Loveland will begin making snow any day now, and within two months all Summit County ski resorts will be open for skiing and riding.
Attached you will find the September ’09 Market Insider – Summit County Edition. In this edition you’ll find:
1. Month-to-Month Sold Residential Property in Summit County
2. Sales Price as Percentage of Original and Final (Reduced) Listing Price
3. Bernanke Recession is “Very Likely Over”
4. Homebuyer Tax Credit Ends Soon
IMPACT OF “THE CRASH” ON MOUNTAIN TRAVEL
IMPACT OF “THE CRASH” ON MOUNTAIN TRAVEL
(A Statistical “Apples to Oranges” Comparison, August Occupancy Down; First Positive Future Reservations Data For Coming Ski Season)
Denver, Colo., Sept 17, 2009—The August summary of the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) coincides with the one year anniversary of the economic meltdown that impacted nearly every sector of the U.S. economy. A comparison of this year’s data to last year at this time has created an “apples to oranges” comparison that makes meaningful analysis somewhat challenging as the travel industry adjusts, like the rest of the economy to a “new normal.”
“Most economic and statistical tools, including those used by MTRIP, compare the current year to last year and then calculate the percentage change between the two,” explained Ralf Garrison, president of MTRiP and author of the report. “Last August, consumers were unaffected by the financial crisis and were shopping and spending in historically normal patterns but this year, shopping and spending patterns have changed, particularly on discretionary purchases such as leisure travel including mountain resorts.”
Business in August continued the pattern of recent months with low volume and less strength than last year with August occupancy down 21 percent compared to August 08 and was down 13.2 percent from July 09. Lodging rates were down 12.6 percent compared to August 08 and 11.1 percent from July. Overall, summer business (May–October) continued to show significant declines from last summer.
However, reservations taken in August for arrivals in August-January were up 2.1 percent—the first increase in year-to-year comparisons since May 2009 and only the third increase in the past 12 months. There were noticeable increases for September (28 percent), November (26 percent), and December (six percent) and while actual numbers are small, is the first indicator that consumers may be returning to mountain vacations.
The increase is in sharp contrast to recent trends for short-term bookings. Last- minute bookings which were strong in July, were noticeably absent in August, with in month/for-month bookings down 11 percent compared to August 2008.
During the reporting period, several economic indicators were trending up led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average which continued its steady climb since last February (from 7062.93 to 9496.28 on.Aug. 31) with a 3.5 percent for August alone and the Consumer Confidence Index, up to 54.1 compared to 25 back in February—and almost to the same level as last August when it was 56.9.
“While national indicators continue to move in a direction that fosters cautious optimism for the coming season, these indicators point to a future that has yet to materialize in advanced bookings,” Garrison warned.
The report also noted that lodging rates continue to be significantly lower than a year ago as mountain destinations engage in pricing incentives to attract visitors to their destinations. According to MTRiP, discounts range from 4-18 percent with deeper discounts offered during lower demand months. Overall rates for the next six months are down 13.8 percent from 2008-09.
“Last year’s apples were more positive than this year’s oranges and that makes this year’s data look more negative, especially considering that 07-08 was record breaking for most mountain resorts,”
observed Garrison. “But once we get past this “crash anniversary,” last year’s recessed market conditions will be more comparable to this year, and the resulting statistics more valid as a year-over-year indicator– the first real ‘apples to apples’ look at the upcoming season,” he concluded.
*Data is derived from a sample of 216 property management companies in 15 mountain destination communities across Colorado, Utah, California, and British Columbia. Data is representative of a comprehensive cross-section of the community and may not reflect the entire mountain destination travel industry.
© 2009 MTRiP LLC, All Rights Reserved
Breckenridge Opening
Title: Breckridge Opening
Location: Breckenridge Colorado
Description: Opening Day Breckenridge Colorado
Date: 2009-11-12
Opening Day
Title: Opening Day
Location: Breckenridge Colorado
Link out: Click here
Description: Opening Day for Skiing at Breckenridge Colorado
Date: 11/12/2009
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