Heads Up: Two Air Fare Flash Sales

If you are interested in holiday and winter travel, there are some good deals out there for flights within the United States and across the Atlantic - the latter in business class. But you'll have to move quickly to take advantage of them.

Up until midnight EST on Thursday, Dec. 10, American Airlines is pushing a short-lived economy-class fare sale on its U.S. domestic network. One-way fares based on a round-trip purchase include fares such as: Philadelphia-Miami from $64; Chicago-New Orleans from $89; Los Angeles-Orlando from $129. Tickets must be booked on the airline's Web site, aa.com. What does 'from' mean? It means listed fares don't include taxes and fees, which will boost the total a little. Also, the lowest listed fares apply only to designated days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Fares have been lowered on other days, too, just not as much. The sale is good for travel through March 10, 2010. There are blackout dates, namely: Dec. 18-20, Dec. 22-30, Jan. 2 and 3, Feb. 12 and 13, Feb. 15 and Feb. 20 and 21. For more info, go to www.aa.com.

Leading German carrier Lufthansa has also got a brief - i.e. flash - sale on offer. It is discounting trans-Atlantic business-class fares until Friday, Dec. 11, and the informative bargain-hunting site Travelzoo says fares have been slashed by as much as 70 percent on selected routes. Sample one-way fares include: Boston-Lisbon, $782; Detroit-London, $1,069; Miami-Amsterdam, $1,082. I have flown Lufthansa in business class (and in economy class, as well), and while it doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles of the premium Asian carriers, it is comfortable and well-run. For details, go to www.lufthansa.com. Travel dates in this sale is for departures from Dec. 23 to Jan.1, with returns by Jan. 9.

These two quickie sales sound good to me. But, as always, conduct your due diligence and read the fine print. And if you do book, happy travels.

Newest Travel Deals for Summer and Beyond

Because travel consumers - that's us - aren't buying enough plane tickets or booking enough hotel rooms or taking enough tours, travel-biz providers are continuing to offer good summer deals - and some companies, anticipating a weak fall season, when things typically slow down anyway - are discounting for later this year, too.

Here are some interesting new travel sales. Bear in mind that I am a journalist, not a travel agent. I don't sell or book anything and I don't own stocks in travel companies. This travel news is strictly FYI, in case you find it useful:

* Starwood Hotels and Resorts - which operates well-known brands such as Sheraton, Westin, W and St. Regis - is discounting as much as 50 percent off regular room rates at 600 of its properties in the Americas and Asia. You must book by July 20 - Monday - for travel from July 16 through Oct. 12.

* Southwest Airlines is launching another airfare sale, on the heels of a previous sale just over a week ago. Cheap rates are available for travel from Aug. 18 to Nov. 18 and are good for flying on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. There are some blackout dates. Purchases must be made by July 30.

* Fellow discounter AirTran has a good fare sale, too. For example: Atlanta to Los Angeles for as little as $119 one-way before taxes and fees, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Orlando for as little as $69, also one-way and before taxes and fees. Tickets must be purchased by July 28 and there some blackout dates. Cheapest fares are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

* The Kimpton Group's chain of stylish boutique hotels, which operates in nearly two-dozen U.S. and Canadian cities, is offering online rates at www.kimptonhotels.com on three tiers: $129 per night (at Hotel Palomar, Arlington, Va., to cite one example); $159 (Hotel George, Washington, D.C., among others); and $179 (Hotel Monaco Seattle, among others).

* The travel-deal search company Travelzoo has flagged a new deal from tour company Friendly Planet (tel. 800-555-5765) for Vietnam, stopping in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi. Friendly Planet says the six-day deal includes air from Los Angeles on China Airlines, as well as hotels and city tours. Listed price is $999 per person, before additional taxes of $95 per. I don't know the company, but Travelzoo pegs the worth of this trip at about $2,000 per person. The tour is good for travel from Sept. 15 and must be booked by July 28.

If you tap any of these deals, and have feedback about them, I'd be interested in hearing it: david@wishyouwereheretravel.net.