Some airfares are so cheap right now they might as well be free

[Andy Meek]

• Carriers like Frontier and Southwest Airlines are starting to roll out fare sales and deals offering cheap flights again, for travelers who are slowly beginning to take back to the skies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• The travel industry is still not back to its pre-coronavirus level, however.
• Nevertheless, the US State Department on Thursday removed its general "do not travel" advisory, returning to its pre-coronavirus country-by-country system of travel warnings and guidance.

The coronavirus pandemic has been utterly brutal to the airline industry, which has shed tens of thousands of jobs and lost billions of dollars in revenue from consumers too scared to pack themselves inside a narrow plane cabin during the once-in-a-century health crisis facing the world right now. This is not to say that the industry is sitting back or has given up, resigned to the consequences of the near-existential crisis facing it. Carriers have taken steps that include implementing intense new cleaning procedures, mandated face masks and social distancing on flights (rules that vary somewhat by carrier), and have lined up support in Washington DC for what looks to be more federal funding to help cover payrolls for at least a little while longer.

Fare sales are also starting to be offered again, tempting fliers with the promise of cheap flights at a time when planes (hopefully) aren't as full as they used to be. Frontier Airlines is the latest carrier offering just such a deal, and it's quite a doozy -- the low-cost carrier currently has as many as 1 million seats on sale starting at just $19 and up.

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Some airfares are so cheap right now they might as well be free originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 7 Aug 2020 at 14:31:20 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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