Wednesday, February 19, 1997

Critics question whether American fare sale is a fair deal

By KAREN SCHWARTZ AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - The strike that didn't quite happen has led to the fare sale that isn't quite what it seems.

There are some good deals to be found in the sale that American Airlines announced Saturday to lure back customers scared off by its pilots strike. True bargains were available for flights to Europe and the Caribbean, but for flights within the mainland United States, "This sale is an out and out joke," Terry Trippler, editor and publisher of the Airfare Report newsletter, said Tuesday.

The round-trip walk up fare from New York to Los Angeles was $388 under the sale announced by American. Last week, however, American had a walk-up fare of $398 round-trip.

Trippler claims the airlines are misleading the public with their claims of up to 50 percent off.

"It's a vehicle to generate phone calls," he said. "How many people would pick up the phone if they said, 'New York to Los Angeles, $10 off?' "

He gives another example: The flight from Dallas to Chicago, for instance, costs $238 round-trip under the sale announced Saturday. That's the same price that was offered last week for a walk-up fare under a sale that ended at midnight Friday.

But American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the sale is genuine.

"Specials come and specials go, and we make it very clear that it is a discount off the regular 21-day fare," he said.

Sale or no, the phones are ringing again at American Airlines after a week of spooked travelers taking their business elsewhere for fear of a strike.

A call to the airline's toll-free number on Tuesday was met with a recording that said agents were busy and to call back later. Later tries got through within minutes.

American took more than 2 million phone calls on Monday, about seven times the normal volume, Smith said. And of the people calling, the number of customers who bought tickets doubled.

Travel agents also reported heavy volume.

Bonnie Roy, manager of Discount Travel in Arlington, Texas, said the agency has been receiving 150 to 200 calls an hour, compared to the normal volume of 60 to 80 calls.

"Come Monday morning, the first time we flipped on the phones there were 20 calls holding," she said. "People are ready to travel cause they've been so brainwashed into thinking that everything is so cheap."

Margaret Blank, assistant vice president of Garber Travel, a Boston-based agency with 100 outlets nationwide, said her agents have been getting calls from ticket holders trying to get a better deal.

"Most of them did not," she said.

Smith said the airline still has many seats available at the lower fares, but acknowledged that availability is getting tight to warm destinations like Florida and the Caribbean.

"Some people were able to take advantage of it, but not everybody," Blank said. "You have to be very flexible if you really want to get the fare."

Susan Gonzalez stopped by an American ticket office in Manhattan hoping to get a cheap weekend fare to St. Thomas - to no avail.

"They ran out of the lower airfares," she said. But she wasn't discouraged, "I've been checking with the other airlines and they're competitive."

Other airlines have matched American's sale on competing routes - including the double frequent-flier points being offered - and in some instances, driven the prices down even lower. On the New York to Los Angeles route, for instance, America West bettered America's fare by $50, offering a round-trip for $348. American and competing airlines then matched the America West fare.

The American fares have no advance purchase, but require a Saturday night stay and aren't refundable. That may make them of limited value to business travelers. American's best deals are for tickets purchased by March 3, while it and other airlines have differing discounts for different dates.

But even cynics like Trippler agree that the sale fares to Europe and the Caribbean are good.

"I've never seen cheaper fares to Europe," said Tom Parsons, editor of Best Fares Discount Travel Magazine.

And, Parsons notes, the real bonus is in the double frequent flier points, which on a trip from Los Angeles to London or Dallas to Frankfurt would be enough for a free domestic ticket.