If You’ve Got a Job, It’s a Great Time to Take a Vacation
March 15th, 2009 . by economistmomThe weak economy is not a bad thing for all people all of the time. If you’ve still got your job and some “discretionary income,” it’s a really great time to plan your spring or summer vacation and take advantage of the bargains out there.
From a Washington Post story:
An airfare war has broken out in recent weeks — a boon for anyone with money to travel.
Airlines have rushed out coast-to-coast travel deals for as little as $99 each way for the spring and summer as the economic downturn has taken hold. Continental Airlines and United Airlines, fighting it out on routes between Washington and Los Angeles, have priced round-trip tickets under $200. Airlines in recent weeks have cut ticket prices as much as 50 percent from a year ago, travel analysts say.
“If you are paying over $300 for an airline ticket right now, you are probably paying way too much,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. “We’ll never see these prices again outside of a recession.”
I recently purchased a great deal on airline tickets and especially hotel rates for a long-weekend trip I’m taking with daughter #2 to San Francisco in April. Yet we’re cutting back on our family vacation expenses this year by not taking the whole family on vacation for a full week during my kids’ spring break. Instead, I think my husband and I will take turns taking each of our kids on one-on-one weekend trips over the course of the year. It’s quality (time) over quantity this year.
I really appreciated the post that you commented on from the news. It’s true. Now is definatly the time to travel. The only scary thing, as someone that used to work hand-in-hand with airlines, is the continued lay offs and setbacks on airlines, causing sometimes unsafe conditions. I’m sure that we’ve all noticed the rise in flights being cancelled and I just would hope that purchasing tickets so far in advance wouldn’t turn out to be something I regret. I liked the idea of the one-on-one trips with the kids. I really think that they’ll appriciate that.
Totally a good idea especially domestically or in places where the dollar’s exchange is decent–good call.
More generally, A buddy of mine has made a sport of trying to predict airline cashflow squeezes for deals. Is he successfull? Who knows, but he reports great airfares and excursion prices. Word back to suppliers in this industry– there has never been a better tie to start hedging so as to manage your future cashflows better.