Slumping world economy prompts travel deals

For the past few months, we travel agents have been getting an earful from clients about the the soaring cost of air travel. Well, here’s the one shred of good news amidst all the economic gloom: Airfare increases seem to be behind us.

Though airlines managed to raise ticket prices almost every week early in the year, those increases stopped abruptly in July, and “There is a consensus in the industry that they pretty much have hit the end of the rope on fare increases,” according to Rick Seaney of Farecompare.com.

The reason: Deteriorating business conditions mean fewer business travelers, so airlines compete more fiercely for those who are still flying. For the month of September, the seven biggest U.S. carriers saw passenger miles drop by nearly 10%.

So far, airlines don’t seem to be dropping fares except in their premium cabins — the one area where travel agents can still sometimes earn a commission.

New York Times “Travel Industry Shaken by Economic Downturn”