As of Thursday morning, between Anchorage and Houston, Texas, Delta Air Lines was offering a $402 roundtrip fare for fall and winter travel. Seats are available for travel after Sept. 1 -- all the way into May of 2013. Yesterday, the fare as available for as little as $313, but these rates change like the wind.
Houston is a hub for United. Not to be outdone, United fired back Thursday with great rates between Anchorage and both Minneapolis and Detroit -- two of Delta's hubs. Prices are hovering around $405-$407 roundtrip.
These are great prices to popular hubs and it represents nothing less than an extraordinary spite-and-malice grudge match between two giant airlines.
From time to time, smart travelers who can plan ahead are the beneficiaries when airlines are mad at one another. Today is one of those days. You can follow all the details at my website, Alaska Travelgram. To keep fully up to date, you can sign up for the email blasts here. Usually, I just send out a weekly digest -- but I've been up three mornings in a row to send out "extras" because of these good back-and-forth prices.
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based travel marketing consultant who has lived in Alaska for three decades, spending much of that time traveling the far-flung corners of the state. Visit his website at www.alaskatravelgram.com. And follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/alaskatravelgrm for breaking updates.