American Airlines flash airfare sale starts at $40 each way

Southwest Airlines kicked off a big 40th-anniversary airfare sale on Tuesday -- and now American Airlines is crashing the party with a comparable autumn airfare sale, starting at $40 each way, that ends Thursday night -- that’s tonight.

The deal: Thanks go to SmarterTravel.com for alerting me to American’s U.S. Fall Travel Sale. The pricing is similar to Southwest’s staggered sale fares of $40, $80 and $120 each way, excluding tax. The fare varies by distance. American’s airfares, however, require a round-trip purchase, and checked-baggage fees may apply.

Sample each-way airfares from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) include $40 to Phoenix, Sacramento and San Jose; $80 to Albuquerque, Austin, Denver, El Paso and Tucson; $120 to Houston, St. Louis and Key West, Fla.; and $130 to Orlando, Fla. . The sale also includes each-way flights from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank (BUR) for $80 to Seattle and $120 to Houston, New Orleans and Newark, N.J., and other destinations.

When: The offer is good for travel from Aug. 23 through Nov. 16, but must be purchased by 9:59 PDT tonight. The sale prices don’t apply to Fridays and Sundays, and some blackout dates apply.

Tested: I found availability for an $80 flight from Burbank to Seattle at 8 a.m. Sept. 8 and the same price returning at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13.

Contact: American Airlines U.S. Fall Travel Sale, (800) 433-7300