3 Big Airlines to Cut Fares for Thanksgiving : Up to 85% Reductions on American, United, Delta

NEW YORK — Three of the biggest U.S. airlines announced Thanksgiving fare cuts of up to 85% on Monday to lure impulse travelers who otherwise would stay home during the four-day holiday.

American Airlines was the first to offer the sharply reduced fares, and it was quickly followed by United and Delta.

Mike W. Gunn, American’s senior vice president for passenger marketing, said a “48-hour Thanksgiving special” on the nation’s second-largest carrier applies on flights from Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, through noon Saturday, Nov. 30. One-way coach fares will cost $29 for trips of 500 miles or less, $49 for flights of 501 to 1,500 miles and $79 for flights of more than 1,500 miles.

Chuck Novak, a spokesman for No. 1 United Airlines, said United will “match American in the markets in which it competes with American.”

Delta Sets 70% Cuts

Delta announced later in a press statement that it would cut fares on flights to 100 U.S. cities by 70% in the Thanksgiving period. It added that the same fares would be offered for the three days after Christmas.

Northwest, Continental and Braniff airlines said they had no immediate comment on the fare reductions. But Russell Marchetta, a spokesman for People Express Airlines, said the carrier had no plans to match the offers.

“Most Thanksgiving travelers already have made plans for Wednesday-Sunday,” Marchetta said. “We don’t see this as hurting our flights.”

Some airline industry analysts saw the fare reduction as part of a pricing strategy in which carriers offer discounts during specific dates when they know passenger traffic will be light.

“It’s really not a gimmick. It’s an effort to induce people to fly,” said Timothy P. Pettee of L. F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin, a New York investment firm. “It’s something the airline industry has latched onto in the last year or so, looking at their forward bookings and seeing where the weak spots are.”

Gunn said the special fares apply anywhere in American’s system covering the 48 continental states and must be bought on a round-trip basis within three days of making a reservation. Reservations must be made by Nov. 26.

“Traditionally in the Thanksgiving holiday period, we have always been very light,” Gunn said. “The planes will be going anyway, the crews will be going anyway. This is just an opportunity to put the two together.”