Airlines Hotels Launch Fall Travel Deals

Among the end-of-summer and early fall travel deals: luxury hotel accommodations in India at a less-than luxurious cost.

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When the going gets tough in the travel industry, tough-minded marketers start slashing prices. And things are very tough indeed in travel right now, which means truly startling discounts for us.

Since Wall Street melted down last year, figures show that airline revenue has plummeted about 20 percent. Hotel revenue is down closer to 25 percent. Both dips are directly attributable to the phenomenon I described contemporaneously in a column that Portfolio.com's editors cleverly titled A Run on the Bankers: When business travelers, especially free-spending financial types, stop flying, the travel market craters.

After initially trying to tough out the slump, airlines and hotels have begun to rethink their pricing strategies and are employing discount tactics to fill seats and get heads on beds. That means the world is full of bargains now. Here are some of my current favorites.

Top of the (European) World, Ma!

Finnair isn't top of mind when it comes to flights to Europe, even though it has an extensive Northern European network centered on its compact, pleasant Helsinki hub and offers terrific service in business class. How do you combat that kind of traveler disinterest and ignorance? With eye-opening price cuts, of course. Finnair is promoting an open-ended business-class sale to Europe with prices as low as $2,200 roundtrip from New York's Kennedy Airport. That includes flights to Moscow, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Warsaw, and almost a dozen other cities. But wait, there's more, as they say on TV infomercials. Although Finnair isn't talking about it, you can drive roundtrip business-class prices down to about $1,900 if you're willing to accept nonrefundable tickets and a Saturday-night stay. You can find some basic information on the sale at Finnair's website.

All You Can Eat, Er, Fly…

Travel always bottoms out right after Labor Day since most leisure fliers are done for the summer and most business travelers haven't geared up for the fall. Given the state of the economy this year, however, no one knows what to expect for this September and early October. So JetBlue Airways has bowed to the obvious and launched a heck of a "sale." For one flat price ($599), you can fly anywhere you want as often as you want on the JetBlue network between September 8 and October 8. The so-called All You Can Jet pass has no blackout dates and any seat JetBlue has to its 57 destinations on 600 daily flights is available. Even the domestic taxes and fees are included in the $599 price. The only restrictions of note: You must book at least three days before departure. But you have to hurry: Passes must be purchased by end of the day Friday (August 21).

A Temporary Perch Atop the Hotel Heap

Business travelers like Hyatt Hotels and seem to adore the company's new mid-price brand called Hyatt Place. But because Hyatt's global footprint of about 400 properties is dwarfed by competitive chains like Marriott and Hilton (each have more than 3,000 hotels), the company's Gold Passport frequent-guest program is often overlooked. To induce folks to give Gold Passport a try, Hyatt is now offering 120 days of Platinum Level elite status to all comers. Platinum status usually requires 25 Hyatt stays a year to qualify, and it offers travelers commensurate rewards: free Internet access, 30 percent point bonuses, and suite upgrades. To maintain Platinum status in 2010, you must complete five stays during the 120 days that you're comped as an elite player. If you're not a Gold Passport member, you can join and immediately upgrade to Platinum status at the same time. If you're an existing Gold Passport member, call 800-228-3360 to upgrade.

Doesn't La Dolce Vita Mean Cheap Business-Class Flights?

Italian aviation is a real basket case. Myair, a low-fare Italian carrier headed by a former Italian Transport minister, recently was grounded. And the highly regarded Air One has been subsumed into the remade Alitalia, which continues to flounder despite a government-funded bailout fronted by Air France. But that does leave Eurofly (973-338-3106), which offers independent flights between New York's Kennedy Airport and Rome at insanely great prices. During two of the very best months to visit Rome—September and October, when the weather is great, the tourists have thinned out, and the restaurants have opened again—Eurofly is offering a $1,619 fare. That's roundtrip in business class and includes the fuel surcharges.

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