Airfare expert says 2009 prices could dip

Airfare expert says 2009 prices could dip

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines Co. has published its schedule and fares for early next year, a move that could spur rivals to lower their fares for the period, an airfare observer said recently.

Many airlines take reservations nearly a year in advance, but Southwest usually goes out only about six months.

Recently, the Dallas-based carrier issued its schedule and prices for Jan. 9 through March 6. The new schedule has forced other major airlines to roll back fares they had been charging to match Southwest’s lower prices on many routes, said Tom Parsons, chief executive of travel Web site Bestfares.com.

Parsons said the old rule of booking further in advance to save money doesn’t always hold true. He said other airlines will probably charge higher fares for travel after March of next year.

Travel guide content available to download

NEW YORK — Frommer’s travel guides are becoming available for download to iPhones and the iPod Touch.

Digital editions of Frommer’s 2008 guides to New York, San Francisco, London and Paris are $9.99 from Apple.com via the new Apple App Store and from iTunes. More Frommer’s guides will be out later this year for downloading.

Once the books are loaded, users can browse ad-free content without an Internet connection. The format also offers interactive maps, Web and phone links through the touchscreen interface.

To view a demo of the application, visit www.frommers.com/go/mobile.