No Rush for Low Air Fares : O.C. Travel Agents Say Fliers May Be Waiting for Added Discounts

U.S. airlines are discounting fares to fill planes this fall, but travel agents say there was no stampede Thursday to book flights.

“To be very honest, the phones have not been ringing off the hook,” said Kay Burra, manager of Aliso Hills Travel in Laguna Hills.

Some agents said word has not gotten out to the public about the new, lower fares. Others said the rates are not low enough yet--that travelers are anticipating still further discounting after Labor Day.

“It hasn’t been a real busy summer like normal,” said Jack Cosand, president of La Habra Travel and former president of the Orange County chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents. “People just won’t book. They keep waiting for the fares to go down.”

Local travel agents haven’t been nearly as busy this summer as last, when transcontinental round-trip flights were selling for less than $200 and ticket counters were swamped.

This week’s fare cuts, agents said Thursday, are too little, too late.

“Last year’s (fare war) started up right before the summer months, and that was really effective,” said John Marino with Cal-Mart Travel Service in Irvine. “It’s the timing.”

Across the board, travel agents said that this season has been slow.

“It’s been a boring summer, because we’re coming off this phenomenal fare war from last year,” said Thomas Nulty, president of Associated Travel Management in Santa Ana, with 350 employees at 100 locations across the nation. “Many people this summer were waiting for the big fare war to happen, and it never did.”

Kathy Barrish, a partner with First California Travel in Villa Park, said that at a travel agent seminar this week she and other agents joked that a good air-fare war was needed to pick up business.

“People are apprehensive and are holding back,” Barrish said. “With the new fares that came out today, you have to buy your tickets so far in advance, and I just don’t think people want to let go of their money that soon.”

In general, people are waiting until the last minute to buy their airline tickets, said Dianne LaPorte, vice president of operations for World Travel in Santa Ana.

“The key to travel this year is that people are booking a shorter window,” she said. “They’re looking for the deal.”

A survey by the Travel Industry Assn. of America, a trade group based in Washington, shows that 22% of people who usually travel had planned to stay home this summer. Of that group, nearly a fourth said they lack time, while another fourth said they lack money.

Among those who are traveling, LaPorte said, Europe has been more popular this summer than last. Hawaii has held its own as a destination, and Mexico is down a bit.

She said domestic travel appears to be up, even though the Travel Industry Assn. had predicted earlier this year that the summer’s totals would be down.

As for this week’s air-fare cuts, one agent predicted that a little publicity might tip the scales and send people flying.

“The minute they put it on TV, people will be calling in droves,” said Pauline Kennedy, owner of Carrousel Travel in Yorba Linda.

Domestic Airline Travel Drops

Passengers flew fewer miles in June compared to a year earlier, when airlines waged a fare war. Miles in millions:

June 1993: $30.4

Summer Travel Roundup

In spite of slow airline ticket sales, travel industry analysts say, Americans are not forgoing their summer vacations this year:

* Auto trips: Expected to account for 82% of vacation travel.

* Adult travelers: 69% plan to take at least one vacation trip this summer; 22% will stay home.

* Budgeting for vacation: 57% are setting aside the same amount for travel this summer as last; 24% say they will spend more.

* Spending plans: Eight out of 10 vacationers say they do not intend to make major changes from last year in order to economize. Of those who do plan to economize, 61% will do so by staying in the United States instead of going to other countries.

* Why go: Entertainment and sightseeing (37%) are the most common reasons; visiting friends and relatives is second (35%).

* Length of stay: The average 1993 summer vacation trip is 4.8 nights.

Sources: Air Transport Assn.; Travel Industry Assn. of America; Researched by JANICE L. JONES / Los Angeles Times