With the airline industry looking for passengers, many carriers are offering interesting fares and other lures, including these: LAS VEGAS FOR LESS: National Airlines, which serves Las Vegas from several cities, has extended through this month its Get America Flying fares, with round-trip travel from the East Coast, including Kennedy Airport, Newark and Philadelphia, costing $75.
It is no longer a debatable point that large numbers of business travelers are now flying on fares the airlines intended for leisure travelers.
Swissair has Zap and Fly fares (www.zapfly.ch) from Geneva or Zurich to cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Nice and Rome with round-trip fares of $77 to $270.
But 20 pages later, the footnotes reveal that passengers flying in fare classes G (for groups) and L (which are specially negotiated) receive no miles.
If flying low-fare carriers like Southwest or JetBlue is important, it might be smart to stick to offline agencies or deal directly with the airline.
With many business travelers using alternate airports on single or multiple legs of their trips, or flying low-fare carriers that often use outlying airports, Mr. Trippler decided to compile a reference book called "Drive a Little, Save a Lot".
For one thing, the remaining three start-up carriers still flying discount-fare all-business-class routes across the Atlantic — Eos Airlines, Silverjet, and l'Avion — are all looking to expand.
Those who flew when fares were regulated, and higher, remember when planes were empty and airlines competed with amenities like better meals.
Now, as economically distressed airlines frantically adjust schedules, crews and equipment to try to raise the most cash possible from each mile flown, new fares and more creative advance-purchase and frequent-flier promotions are being tailored to specific market segments and often promoted directly to customers through the Internet.
Travelers flying on discount fares have helped carriers rebuild traffic while business travel at higher fares has remained weak.
Last March, Southwest made an even more fundamental change in its loyalty program, moving from a system that awarded participants credits for flights, regardless of distance flown or fare paid, to one that gives participants points based on the types of fares they purchase.
