Deal Of The Week

Nationwide airfare sale

What's the deal?: Southwest is offering discounted airfares with one-way tickets starting as low as $59 to select destinations nationwide. From Baltimore, travel to Boston; Detroit; Cleveland; and Raleigh, N.C., among other cities, for $59 each way. Tickets must be booked by Sept. 3, for travel Sept. 9 to Jan. 7. Sale fares apply to flights every day except Fridays and Sundays, from Sept. 9 to Jan. 7. Meanwhile, AirTran is running a similar sale with flights to Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; and Rochester, N.Y., starting at $39 one-way. Book by Tuesday for travel through Dec. 16. Sale fares to West Coast cities are $119 each way.

What's the savings?: Varies. Depends on where you're going and when.

What's the catch?: Flights are not the cheapest they've ever been - a sale back in July had some $30 one-way airfare. Also, blackout dates mean holiday travel is pretty much excluded, which is not a surprise. But Tom Parsons, editor of BestFares.com, points out that Southwest should end the sale on Dec. 17, since most days are blacked out after that date.

That seems to be what AirTran did, since its sale is only good through mid-December, and Thanksgiving blackout dates apply.

Information:: southwest.com or airtran.com.