U.S. airlines in sales mood to fill seats

At least eight U.S. airlines have initiated sales on ticket prices to lure passengers back to traveling, an industry observer said.

We haven't seen consistent weekly sales of this magnitude in past falls and winters, Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of FareCompare.com, told USA Today Wednesday.

Southwest Airlines has initiated three fare sales since the end of October and will keep its current sale in place through Dec. 4, the newspaper said.

For the 25 most popular domestic routes, FareCompare.com reported more than half cost less than $220 for non-stop round trip tickets on Dec. 10, roughly halfway between two major holidays.

Prices gained closer to Christmas, the newspaper said. Most routes, however, were available for under $270 for round trip arrangements for passengers starting out on Dec. 24 and returning five days later.

These holiday prices would have been double eight to 12 weeks ago, Seaney said.

Airline industry analyst Ray Neidl at Calyon Securities said the economic slowdown has driven demand down sharply, the newspaper said.

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