America West Cuts Air Fares

Airlines launched a new round of competitive fare cutting Wednesday in a bid to bolster slumping passenger volume.

America West Airlines announced it would offer discounts of up to 30% on travel to most of the cities it serves. The non-refundable fares, available until Feb. 17, require a 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay, the airline said.

America West said it offered the new fares because its other promotions were scheduled to end this week.

United Airlines, Trans World Airlines and Continental Airlines said they would match the cuts on all routes in which they compete with America West.

Other airlines said they were considering similar discounts. Some could not immediately be reached for comment.

The discounts came a day after Northwest dropped special fares it had introduced to stimulate off-season travel by families and groups. Michael Levine, a Northwest vice president, said the decision by competitors to match and broaden the offer threatened “industry pricing havoc.”

While Wednesday’s fare cuts may fill empty seats in the near term, they will probably hurt the industry’s bottom line--already bruised by the recession, higher costs and previous fare wars.