I've been checking out air fair to Alaska for a while, really want to go this Dec. to see the "real" Alaska. Interesting thing is that no matter which month (except summer), AA and Alaska always charges $700 CA - ANC. Is this just the best fair? How do you find deals? Thanks.

We used to find better prices late in the summer for fall travel. You might also check for some good deals from other airports. A friend got a super deal last year by flying from home to another city and then to ANC. I kind of expect airfare to be higher than before. But why December? Are you looking around holiday times when more people are traveling?

This is the current pricing, the low rates are long gone, never to return, I would bet. Fuel prices are through the roof as you already know and people are back flying- so supply and demand.

You don't disclose why you are heading to Alaska in Dec. but when I was planning winter trips, I found that March was far preferable for me so to enjoy the many outdoor activites- dog sledding and snowmobiling. They daylight differences are significant.

Plus Fairbanks offers just superb aurora possibilities in March and the Ice Sculpting championships are not to be missed. www.icealaska.com

Went in that timeframe two years in a row.

Or head to Anchorage for Fur Rondy in late Feb - early March. I can see airfares from LA or SF areas to ANC in the sub-$400 range then (not on AS.) However, AS often has fare sales - subscribe to their web alert email service and I have no doubt you'll do better than $700. (www.furrondy.net by the way.)

In Dec. many Alaska residents are traveling for the holidays, kids coming home from school, snowbirds bailing, Permanent Fund dividend recipients living Aloha, etc., so airfares can also reflect outgoing as well as incoming tourism.

The "sad" part is that I get the last week of Dec. off anyway. I can use up my vacation days before that week, and still get that week off. I typically attach some "vacation days" to get a real feel of vacation. Since this is fixed, I can only have another vacation about 6 months before that. So the year doesn't seem to be toooo long. Wouldn't it be nice if we had "floating week"?

2fly,

Have you considered signing up for the Alaska Airlines credit card? Granted, it's another credit card, but you can score a cheap airline ticket to Alaska that way. Here's how. Sign up for the one that gives you a $50 companion ticket. What this means is that you end up spending full price for 1 ticket, but for the other ticket, you spend $100 ($50 each way). There is a $75 annual fee, but if you complain about it, my experience is that Alaska Airlines will knock it down to $35/year. (This means you spend full price for 1 ticket, the other ticket ends up costing $135 total.) Keep in mind that if you sign up for the card, it takes 4-6 weeks sometimes to get the $50 companion coupon to use, so you'll want to start early.

Daph24ne, you got it all figured out! I hope you do take full advantage of it. I use AA credit card, and was not qualified for the companion ticket (fine prints...). As a matter of fact, I avoid flying with AA. I have a voucher from them, which is worth a few hundreds of dollars, still have not found a chance ot use it. Sometimes with the voucher, an AA ticket costs as much as a partner ticket. But I just don't like the idea of rip-off. Actually it is not exactly rip-off. A big corporation like AA has more "expense" than Alaska or many other airlines...

I just purchased Philly to ANC for $312 on Delta last night.