Discount Airfare: American Airlines’ Winter Deals

Wintertime is travel time for flyers in search of bargains. Consider American Airlines’ latest spate of deals, with each-way discount airfares starting as low as $49 – exclusive of taxes and fees.

Book and buy no later than December 1. Travel windows depend on destination, but generally you can fly domestically from late December through late February 2009. Internationally, travel from early December through early March or early April.

Purchase your tickets at the Web site (www.aa.com). Domestically, you’ll have to buy at least ten days in advance, or within 24 hours of making a reservation, whichever comes first. Internationally, purchase at least seven days in advance of departure, or within three days of reservations – again, whichever comes first.

There are some day-of-week restrictions attached to these discount airfares. Domestically, be prepared to travel Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Internationally, it’s Monday through Thursday – except for Great Britain, where it’s Monday through Wednesday. There are some blackout dates, and they’re clustered around Christmas and New Years.

Here’s the most important thing to remember: while all the discount airfares are quoted each-way, you’l l have to make a roundtrip buy to get them. That’s critical to take into consideration when budgeting your trip.

All that taken care of, here’s a sampling of the discount airfares American Airlines is offering:

- Dallas (Dallas/Fort Worth) to St. Louis $49

- Miami to Washington, DC $49

- Austin to Los Angeles $79

- Boston to Chicago (O’Hare) $89

- New York City to Orlando $89

- Los Angeles to Washington, DC $109

- Las Vegas to Miami $129

- New York City to Grand Cayman $127

- Dallas (Dallas/Fort Worth) to Mexico City $162

- Boston to London (Heathrow) $213

- Chicago (O’Hare) to Cozumel, Mexico $225

- New York (Kennedy) to Zurich $299

- Los Angeles to Tokyo (Narita) $538

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler