Heavy salvos fired in fare discount war

AIRLINES and hotels are engaging in unprecedented discounting to keep people travelling during the economic slowdown.

Low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has started offering two-for-one fares between Melbourne and Perth and Adelaide and Perth for travel between April 1 and October 3.

In-bound flights from Adelaide and Melbourne to Perth through Tiger are being offered for less than $100 for travel between May and September.

Domestic low-cost offerings are on the increase, with Jetstar launching its new daily Adelaide services and three-times-weekly Perth to Cairns services, in addition to its double-daily services to Melbourne.

Internationally, Jetstar is offering one-way fares between Perth and Singapore for less than $200.

At the upper end, Qantas is offering two-for-one deals on its business class airfares, for the second time in six months.

Some of the deals on offer include London to Perth business return for $11,849 for two people, and Los Angeles to Perth business return for $16,793 for two people.

Increased competition on the Australia to US route is also leading to cheaper fares, with the new V Australia offering fares as low as $1,200, including taxes, between the east coast of Australia and Los Angeles.

In addition to the airlines, Perth hotels are also actively discounting across all star ratings, with some hotels offering discounts of up to 60 per cent of room rates.

Travelcorp WA regional manager Vanessa Weigall said discounting in the tourism sector had reached unprecedented levels.

She expects the sales to continue for some time, as businesses and consumers tighten their travel spending.

"This is an opportunity for people to evaluate how they spend their travel budget and things that may have been a bit unnecessary," Ms Weigall said.

"Seeing some companies are moving down a star rating, for example companies that previously selected the Intercontinental Burswood as their preferred hotel are now moving to the Holiday Inn."

"They're still travelling but they're being more careful with how they spend."

Hotels offering generous discounts include the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Accor Group hotels, with five-star hotels the Duxton and The Sheraton Perth offering half-price deals through booking website wotif.com.

Seashells Hotel Group last week closed its offer of doubling stays for free for bookings of two or more nights at its Yallingup, Broome, Mandurah or Scarborough hotels.