My friends who track airfares and schedules assure me that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas features some of the best fares of the year. It's a relatively slow time of year for travel, buoyed in part by mileage-runners who are topping off their frequent flyer accounts to get their "elite" status for the following year. Let's take a look at some of the stand-out specials:
Anchorage-Los Angeles for as little as $319 round-trip on Alaska Airlines: Take the nonstop from Anchorage on Dec. 6 or 7, returning on select dates through Dec. 14. If you cannot take advantage of that, Delta offers a $375 round-trip fare between Anchorage and LA from early January through April 26.
Anchorage-Seattle for $325 round-trip on Delta: Fly between Nov. 29 and Dec. 10 only and check out the holiday shopping in Seattle. Actually, I nabbed a ticket to Seattle for even less on an Alaska Air sale, but those rates disappeared overnight.
Anchorage-Portland for $379 round-trip on Alaska Airlines: I love the nonstop -- and the nonstop loves me. Take advantage of this deal between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10 only. After the Christmas rush, Alaska's rate drifts up to -- gasp -- $727 round-trip.
Anchorage-Austin for $400 round-trip starting Dec. 2: For flights before the end of the year, United has the best rates. After the first week in January, both Delta and Alaska Airlines offer the $400 round-trip rate, depending on the date of travel. The fare is valid through April 22. After May 16, the fare drops again (see below).
Anchorage-Boston for $420 round-trip between Dec. 2 and Dec. 10: Depending on the date, either Delta or United offers the best rate. After Jan. 12, Alaska Airlines also offers a $420 round-trip rate.
Anchorage-Kansas City for $400 round-trip starting Dec. 2 on Delta: The rate is available until just before school gets out. Then, Delta offers the fare again through April 25.
Anchorage-Mumbai: This is a great rate for travelers who want to combine a unique destination with a large gob of frequent flyer miles. Depart on Dec. 2 and travel to Mumbai via Seattle and Amsterdam. Return on Dec. 10. You'll churn 21,146 miles on Delta. The cost? $1,172 roundtrip.
Prices go down when temperatures go up
Chances are good that there will be some lower rates after the Christmas rush. And since seasonal competition picks up between Alaska and the Lower 48 in May, rates will go down during the summer. We've listed these fares before, but sometimes really good news bears repeating. This is the case here, I believe. Let's review:
- Anchorage-Seattle from $197 round-trip on JetBlue starting May 16
- Anchorage-Long Beach nonstop from $273 round-trip on JetBlue starting May 16
- Anchorage-New York from $398 round-trip starting May 19 on JetBlue
- Anchorage-Austin from $334 round-trip on JetBlue, starting May 16
- Fairbanks-Seattle nonstop from $250 round-trip on Delta, starting May 29
- Juneau-Seattle from $250 round-trip on Delta, starting May 29
Keep in mind that all of these rates are available in either direction. Also, the fares change all the time. Further, the best fares often come and go quickly.
Lately, I've received questions about how and when travel booking sites (such as Travelocity.com and Expedia.com) will manipulate prices based on how often you check back for a certain fare or a city pair. While such finely tuned practices technically are possible, it seems like a lot of trouble. Still, I do most of my price-checking on Google's ITA site, the same software used at the Orbitz site. Google doesn't care how often you check, since they don't actually sell tickets. If you find the flights and dates you want on ITA, then you can forward the information to your travel agent or go directly to the airline site.