American Airlines cuts prices as fare sale widens

American Airlines on Tuesday matched a promotion by archrival United Airlines aimed at luring back skittish business travelers, leading to the first widespread fare sale by major airlines since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

The industry until this week was reluctant to slash ticket prices, even though passenger traffic plunged after Sept. 11, stripping the carriers of so much cash that they feared bankruptcy and had to secure a $15 billion U.S. bailout.

But American and United, the nation’s first- and second-largest carriers, respectively, are now offering savings of up to 50 percent off their normal unrestricted, fares for coach-class seats through Dec. 31 -- the type of last-minute tickets normally bought by business passengers. The airlines also jettisoned the Saturday-night-stay requirement, which has long been a nuisance for business travelers.

However, the airlines’ sale requires a 10-day advance purchase for a 25 percent saving, and 21-day advance purchase for the 50 percent discount. There also are other restrictions, and some consumer advocates and travel managers questioned why the airlines are still attaching restrictions to fares when so many people are still not flying.

“The airlines just don’t get the big picture,� said Kevin Mitchell, head of the Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy group for business fliers. “Even before Sept. 11, there was a backlash against the industry’s complicated, burdensome fare structure.

“They need to get people on the planes immediately, and need a completely new approach to the domestic fare structure,� he said.

But others said they’re detecting a steady, if gradual, rebound in business travel at least, which could explain why the airlines aren’t abandoning ticket restrictions altogether that might leave them with little or no profit if passenger loads increase.

“Business travelers have started coming back,� said Thom Nulty, president of Navigant International, a corporate travel-management company based in Englewood, Colo. So the airlines “have to be careful� in tailoring their fare sales “so that they don’t slash their incomes in half just to end up with a few more passengers.�

American spokesman Emilio Howell denied that the airline was simply taking its cue from United, which announced its sale late Monday, but rather “decided to do it when we felt it was appropriate.� Both airlines lost two jetliners, their passengers and crews when the terrorists commandeered the aircraft on Sept. 11.

The fare sale, which also was matched by Continental Airlines on routes where it competes with the larger carriers, requires a one- or two-day minimum stay. Seats also are limited, and there is a $100 fee for changing travel plans after the ticket is bought.

United spokesman Joe Hopkins defended the sale and said the restrictions are not onerous. “We’re always going to have certain restrictions around discounted tickets, and an advance purchase is one of those restrictions,� he said.

Before Tuesday, United’s unrestricted fare for a one-way business seat from Los Angeles to New York was $1,193. Under the sale, a 10-day advance purchase cuts the fare to $890, and a 21-day advance purchase lowers it to $587, Hopkins said.