Delta's New Consumer-Friendly Airfares Will Help Smaller and Medium-Sized Airports Grow, Says Bestfares.com

Delta's New Consumer-Friendly Airfares Will Help Smaller and Medium-Sized Airports Grow, Says Bestfares.com

ARLINGTON, Texas, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta's announcements today mark good news for smaller and mid-sized airports, says Tom Parsons, CEO of Bestfares.com, an internet travel information web site.

"Passengers have been abandoning smaller airports and driving to the low- fare cities to save a buck," says Parsons. The news of these less-restricted airfares by Delta now deters the traveler from leaving near-by airports like State College or Harrisburg, Pa., Washington's National and Dulles airport for Baltimore for big airfare savings.

These airports with low-cost carriers have seen tremendous growth, notes Parsons. Prior to Southwest Airlines beginning service out of Baltimore/Washington International Airport, BWI was a third-tier airport in the Washington-Baltimore metro area. Today, BWI is No. 1 because of the presence of discounters Southwest and AirTran.

To show how the prices might affect travelers decision-making, consider this example. Delta's cheapest no advance purchase walk-up fare from Washington, D.C., to San Diego was $1,750 roundtrip. The lowest roundtrip airfare from Baltimore (about 40 miles northeast) was no more than $598 roundtrip to San Diego on Southwest and other major airlines, including Delta.

Today, Delta's airfare from Washington to San Diego is $998 roundtrip or less. That is still higher than Baltimore, but may be low enough to deter the business traveler from driving the extra miles and paying airport-parking fees.

"If Delta can deter travelers from leaving the surrounding airports with lower airfares and consumer friendly travel restrictions, the small and medium-sized cities could see passengers who were willing to drive away for low fares now stay closer to home: marking good news for smaller city air service," says Parsons.

Bestfares.com's Tom Parsons, one of the most sought-after travel industry experts in the United States, has been chasing down hidden travel bargains and bringing them to the traveling public for 20 years. Parsons regularly appears on NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS's The Early Show, CNN, Fox and MSNBC.

To schedule an interview with Parsons about airfare news, contact the Media Relations department at 800-576-8255, or by e-mail at media@bestfares.com .


Source: Bestfares.com

CONTACT: Media Relations department of Bestfares.com, +1-800-576-8255,
or media@bestfares.com

Web site: http://www.bestfares.com/


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