New York City and American Team Up For Sale

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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American Airlines and the tourism office of New York City have teamed up to offer sale fares from select cities across the country. It’s the first time New York City has ever launched a coordinated sale with an airline.

Here are the fares:

$69 O/W from Miami
$84 O/W from Chicago
$99 O/W from Dallas
$109 O/W from San Francisco
$109 O/W from Los Angeles.

Fares do not include all taxes and fees

I did a fare comparison for the same time period, and quite frankly, I’m disappointed. While the prices are all good, the fares don’t offer any real value. American/NYC’s Miami and Chicago fares were the lowest available (but other carriers matched the price), and AirTran is offering lower fares for the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas routes. Since the sale lacks any other unique benefits, such as attractions discounts or meal coupons, you should definitely shop around.

Which begs the question: With tourism slumping, why would American and New York City launch such a dud of a sale? If both parties really need the business, why not give customers something more than this? Is the sale anything more than a marketing ploy to get attention? I can’t pretend to know, but this serves as a reminder that just because a sale looks good doesn’t mean it is.

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