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CAA: Airport News, "It's getting cheaper to fly out of Orange County"
Saturday, June 10, 2000
It's getting cheaper to fly out of O.C.
JOHN WAYNE: Fares to some of the most heavily traveled destinations drop
20%.
By ANNE C. MULKERN
The Orange County (CA) Register
Southern California's priciest airport is getting cheaper.
Fares from Orange County to some of the nations' most heavily traveled
destinations dropped 20 percent this year compared to a year ago, one report
on air fares shows.
Among the 39 airports nationwide tracked by the American Express index,
prices at John Wayne Airport declined the most.
The survey also shows a narrowing of the gap between some fares from O.C.
and those from Los Angeles, which traditionally offers lower-priced tickets.
Flying to Dallas, New York and Chicago now costs the same from either
airport.
American Express looked at advance-purchase fares in February and March to
Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Newark, N.J.
The deepest price cuts were for flights to Chicago and Dallas, said Bob
Harrell, consultant for American Express.
The savings aren't on all flights. Local travel agents say fares from Orange
County to Honolulu, Boston and Washington, D.C., increased dramatically in
the past year.
Airlines typically cut fares because competitors cut rates, or because they
aren't filling seats, said Phil Roberts, chairman of Roberts, Roach and
Associates airline consultants.
Airlines have seen passengers snub the airport, he said, for cheaper flights
from Los Angeles or Ontario on Southwest or America West.
Passenger volume at John Wayne dropped slightly from spring 1998 to spring
1999. Traffic then swelled about 10 percent in April compared with a year
ago. The airport now has 15 more flights a day, however, than a year ago.
The outlook for business travelers is more grim. Business fares from O.C.
increased 18 percent from a year ago.
fares.jpg
