Airlines Cut Fares as Southwest Expands : Travel: USAir and United ticket prices from Los Angeles to San Francisco are the lowest in years: $89 one way on weekdays.

In a double dose of good news for California air travelers, USAir and United Airlines on Tuesday slashed fares on their Los Angeles-San Francisco shuttle services, while Southwest Airlines said it will expand low-fare flights from San Jose.

USAir initiated the lower one-way fares--$89 for weekday travel and $49 on weekends--which are the lowest in years on the heavily traveled route. The fare had been $139. Only three years ago, Los Angeles-San Francisco shuttle passengers paid as much as $220 one way.

“The last time I saw (regular) fares in that range was in 1985 or ‘86,” said David Ulmer, vice president at Roberts & Associates, a transportation consulting firm in Hayward. “This brings the market back to reality.”

In addition to lower regular fares and discounts for seniors and children, passengers on USAir’s hourly California Shuttle will receive additional frequent flier miles and be able to rent a more luxurious car at Alamo Rent A Car in San Francisco or Los Angeles. United, which quickly matched the USAir fare cuts, said it may offer similar benefits.

The fare cut and USAir’s willingness to stick it out in the tough California market surprised many travel industry observers. USAir--like other major carriers--had been expected to retreat in the face of low-fare, low-cost competitors such as Southwest and Reno Air.

Only last month, American Airlines throttled back on service at San Jose, and last year Delta Air Lines eliminated its hourly Los Angeles-San Francisco shuttle service. Two years ago, USAir abandoned many of its intra-California flights.

“They (USAir) are trying to take on Southwest-type pricing,” said Thomas Nulty, president of Associated Travel Management in Santa Ana. “It will certainly have a tremendous amount of customer appeal.”

Southwest does not fly into San Francisco International, but its low-fare service to Oakland from several Southern California airports had siphoned off passengers on the Los Angeles-San Francisco route and forced competitors to lower their fares. The regular fare between Oakland and most Southern California airports is $69 one way.

USAir’s new fare closes the gap with Southwest “and will certainly stem the flow of business travelers going to Southwest,” Nulty said.

Southwest may lose some customers, but the number “will be insubstantial” and the losses will be more than offset by the addition of San Jose service, said Edward Shellswell-White, the airline’s Los Angeles area marketing manager.

Southwest, which began flying out of San Jose last week to Los Vegas and Burbank, said it will begin new San Jose service later this summer with seven daily flights to Los Angeles, six to Ontario and four to Reno. The unrestricted fare between San Jose and Los Angeles, Ontario and Burbank is $69 one way.

Southwest’s expansion will result in a head-to-head contest with newcomer Reno Air, which will begin flying from San Jose to Los Angeles, Ontario, San Diego and other West Coast cities later this summer.

Reno, which initially planned to charge $100 for a one-way regular fare from San Jose to Los Angeles or Ontario, on Tuesday cut the price to $89. Restricted, discount tickets will be available for $49.

Reno said the lower prices are not related to Southwest’s expansion.

Friendlier Skies

The cost of buying unrestricted airline tickets from Southern California to the Bay Area has dropped. Fares on American, Southwest, USAir and United are one-way weekday coach fares.

Route Fare Los Angeles-San Francisco $ 89 Los Angeles-Oakland 69 Burbank-Oakland 69 Ontario-Oakland 69 Orange Co.-San Francisco* 129-189 Los Angeles-San Jose 129