With the rush of the holidays behind us, Iowans can expect some big airfare deals. Travel agent Steve Glenn says the best buys are typically found during mid-January for travel during February, March and April. Oddly enough, of Iowans’ top three destinations, Glenn says only one is in a significantly warmer climate. He says Italy is the most popular destination for his clients this year, followed by Russia and Canada. Glenn says China is the fourth biggest travel destination so far and he expect that market to continue growing. Unfortunately, he says the airline industry itself isn’t growing, and it’ll likely shrink a little more soon. Glenn predicts U.S. Airways will be out of business by Easter. Other upheavals include the possibility of a merger between United and Continental and a major increase in air travel costs beginning this summer. While many of us save our frequent flier points for big eventual trips, Glenn says many of those big banks of miles are being shifted around. As airlines fine-tune their programs, they’re making them more difficult to redeem the miles and requiring a significantly higher number of miles to get free flights, meaning big disappointments for Iowa consumers.
