All of them said they looked for markets where there was a clear demand for low fares.
But the more I thought about it, I realized that labor issues present both risks and opportunities for low fares.
Mr. Neumeister said the airlines had argued that overbooking, "if done properly and responsibly, is good for the airlines, good for the economy, and good for low fares".
Tower was known for low fares, less than $400 for a round trip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, and spotty service.
She searches Web sites like cheaptickets.com for low fares, signs up at airline sites to receive fare-sale alerts by e-mail message and travels only when the price is right.
AirAsia Japan's passenger load factor, a measure of average occupancy on an airline's routes, was 53 percent in May, a critically low level for a budget carrier that makes up for low fares by flying lots of passengers.
Another thing that should sit well with passengers, if not necessarily those looking for low fares, will be the scheduled arrival in 2002 of Canyon Ranch's Quest I and Quest II.
JetBlue, a three-year-old New York-based airline that has worked to build a reputation for low fares and customer satisfaction, acknowledged last week that the transfer of the passenger records was a mistake and publicly apologized.
Much of the burden will fall on business travelers because they depend more on travel agents than leisure travelers, who tend to book flights in advance and shop for low fares, analysts said.
