A VACATION FROM HIGH FARES? PLANNING AHEAD, SHOPPING AROUND HELP YOU CUT TRAVEL COSTS VALLEY Edition

• Published in: Philadelphia daily news (Philadelphia, Pa. : 1925)
• Main Author: Daily News Staff and Wire Services
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, Calif Los Angeles Newspaper Group 28.05.2006
• Subjects: Frommer, Pauline; Spencer, Dick

Airline ticket prices are on the rise as demand from business and leisure travelers increases at the same time carriers trim are reducing their domestic carrying capacity to keep costs down - a strategy that has also resulted in jam-packed planes. The soaring price of jet fuel has also prompted major carriers to raise fares five times this year. Compared with last year, the average price of the cheapest domestic leisure fares is 4 percent higher than a year ago, according to Harrell Associates, a New York-based consultancy. "Airlines are trying to lean more on price than volume," said John Heimlich, chief economist of the Air Transport Association. Hotel rates are climbing for similar reasons. With very few new hotels built in 2005, the existing properties are filling up quickly and from a pricing standpoint "the hotels are back in the driver's seat," said Jan Freitag, a vice president at Smith Travel Research, a Tennessee-based lodging consultant. Room rates are up between 6 and 9 percent from a year ago, with the biggest increases occurring in the luxury market. The cost of renting a mid-sized vehicle one week in advance in the U.S. could rise to about $55 during the peak of the summer, according to Neil Abrams, a New York-based consultant. Last year, that figure was closer to $50. With the nation's rental car fleet growing at a "very conservative" rate, Abrams said the industry has been "able to squeeze more from less."