Act Fast: Airfare Sales Drop Cost of Fall, Winter Travel

Looking for a good flight deal for fall or winter travel? Right now is a great time to be shopping (and buying). In the past few days, airlines including JetBlue, Virgin America and AirTran launched major sales for travel over the next few months. Some fares are as low as they’ve been all year.

The best deals are often found for departures on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays. The length of the sales vary, but some sales extend all the way into March.

Most of these sales black out prime Thanksgiving and Christmas dates, but you can find a deal if you are flexible and fly on off-peak days (or on the actual holiday itself).

So, which sale is right for you?

• Starting at $39 each way, the JetBlue sale fares include Caribbean and U.S. destinations valid for travel Sept. 14 – Dec. 15. Hurray, this deal ends Thursday.
• Virgin America is offering discounts on some sunny locales including Cancun, Los Cabos and Orlando as well as many cities in California. Purchase by Monday to get these fares, which start at $39 each way.
• AirTran is offering 1,000 nationwide routes for less than $100 each way for travel into 2011. This sale includes a wide range of U.S. cities. Fares start at $54; book by Sept. 16.
• American Airlines has discounted popular U.S. routes  with a promotion that ends Sept. 16. Destinations include San Francisco, New York, Miami and Las Vegas. Each-way tickets start at $59.

With summer coming to a close, fares to Europe have also dropped considerably. In some cases, it might be less expensive to fly to Europe over Thanksgiving than to fly domestically in the U.S. (Turkey in Turkey anyone?) Current fare sales include:

• Icelandair has cut fares on 11 popular European cities. Valid for travel Nov. 10 - Dec. 16, travelers can save as much as 40% on trips to Reykjavik, London, Copenhagen and Paris. Act fast as this deal ends Thursday.
• Save as much as 35% on competing fall fares by booking with Air France. This sale includes prime destinations in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Switzerland for travel into October. Book by Sept. 20.
• Business and Economy Extra seats are discounted by Scandinavian Airlines on select dates Nov. 21 - Jan. 10. What sets this sale apart is the availability over Thanksgiving and Christmas. These seats are limited.
• Travel between Paris and New York or Washington, D.C., aboard OpenSkies between November and March, and save $2,000 off the the cost of competing nonstop business class service. Book by Sept. 18.