If You’re 62, Uncle Sam’s Airlines Want YOU!

It pays to be a senior in the skies these days, with airlines quietly battling to fill up empty seats with passengers over 62.

The competition began last month when American Airlines launched its senior discount membership program known as the AActive American Traveler Club. Since then, other airlines have scrambled to undercut American’s deals.

“There’s one heck of a battle for seniors right now,” said Tom Parsons, publisher of Best Fares Discount Travel Magazine in Dallas. “They have a lot of flexible time and a lot have discretionary income. The airlines are looking for everything they can to fill up their planes.”

Traditionally, the airlines have given seniors a 10% discount on their lowest available fare. But the new senior fares--probably the most sweeping program targeted at a specific age group since the youth fares of the 1970s--go beyond that.

The senior fares are available in most markets, albeit on a limited basis. But don’t expect to find these deals widely advertised.

“This is a very, very hidden deal,” Parsons said. “We called every major airline that had these deals, and 50% of their reservation agents couldn’t even find it.

“It’s on the Internet, too, but I don’t think the consumer knows it’s there,” he added.

The senior fares program is just one hidden deal that is helping the airlines fill up planes. Most airlines, for instance, now offer “E-saver” fares for passengers willing to book a seat on Wednesday for travel at limited times the following weekend. Travel agents can use the special codes to find the deals listed in the airlines’ computer reservation systems, or call the carrier.

Parsons says travelers booking the tickets themselves must specify that they want the newly reduced fares with senior discounts, not the standard 10% discount. He suggests saying: “I would like the lowest possible senior fare between X city and X city. Please check to see if a new special senior round-trip fare is available, using your special senior code.”

American has targeted senior citizens by mail and through organizations. Its annual membership fee for the senior program is $40 for an individual or $60 for a program that allows the senior to take along one companion per trip at the special fare. The companion can be any age.

“It’s kind of a win-win situation,” said Bill Dreslin, a spokesman for Dallas-based American. “This generates traffic in the off-season. When everyone else goes back to work, seniors can take off and do things. What we’re trying to do is to get people to travel at good fares when there is space available.”