Winter Travel: Fewer Flights, Elusive Bargains

By Michelle Higgins, New York Times News Service | August 27, 2008

Last year, Nikki Frahm, operations manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Forest Lake, Minn., arranged a February vacation for a family of four to Ixtapa, Mexico. They enjoyed the trip so much that last month, they called Frahm and asked her to sign them up for the same vacation this year.

There’s just one catch: The vacation may be the same, but the price will not.

Last year, the family paid less than $250 per person to fly nonstop from Minneapolis to Ixtapa. This year, those same tickets are $504 a person, said Frahm, raising the cost of the family’s vacation by more than $1,000.

As airlines cut flights and add fuel surcharges, “this is the kind of thing we’re seeing over and over again,” said Frahm. “Inventory is shrinking and the prices are escalating – supply and demand.”