Getting Around Airlines' New Minimum-Stay Requirements

AFTER YEARS IN exile, the airlines' dreaded minimum-stay requirements are back.

In yet another attempt to offset the rising cost of fuel, almost all major airlines, including American Airlines (AMR), Continental (CAL), Delta (DAL), Northwest (NWA) and United (UAUA), will start charging passengers extra for tickets that do not include a Saturday night stay-over or a stay that doesn't entail a minimum number of nights.

"The idea of the Saturday night stay is to keep business travelers from using the discount fares...and for airlines to make more money," Terry Trippler, owner of TripplerTravel.com, a travel savings and information company based in Minneapolis.

Skip the Saturday night stay-over and return earlier in the week instead and you'll pay up to 50% more in airfare, says Trippler. A passenger flying economy class on American from Newark, N.J., to Atlanta on Tuesday, July 15, for example, will pay a fare of $576 if he stays until Sunday. If he only stays one night and leaves Wednesday, however, he'll pay $719 — or 25% more.

The good news: These requirements don't apply to all flights (at least, not yet). Passengers should expect to encounter minimum-stay restrictions only along routes where the airlines don't compete with low-cost carriers, such as Southwest (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU), according Tom Parsons, CEO of BestFares.com, a discount airfare web site.

Here's what fliers need to know to avoid getting hit by an airlines' minimum-stay requirements:

For example, a round-trip flight with American Airlines from Newark to Orlando, Fla., leaving Wednesday, July 9, and returning Thursday, July 10, costs $1,079. If you buy two one-way tickets on JetBlue, however, you'll pay just $319 total.

Most of the major airlines, including American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways, strictly prohibit this practice. "The word on the street will make back-to-back ticketing look so promising to buyers, but the problem today is the penalties you'll incur will be very serious," says Parsons. "Airline systems are not as stupid as they used to be. You should try your best to avoid back-to-back tickets."

Travelers who get caught breaking the airlines' rules will pay dearly. On American's web site, the airline says passengers who attempt to use back-to-back tickets "may be denied boarding, have the remainder of their ticket confiscated, and may be assessed the difference between the fare paid and the lowest applicable fare." Other airlines take it a step further, confiscating frequent-flier miles or kicking offenders out of their frequent-flier program altogether, says Trippler.

Southwest is the only major airline that doesn't prohibit passengers from using this tactic (but then again, it's also the only major airline that doesn't institute Saturday night stay-over requirements), says Trippler. And, of course, one-way ticket purveyors like Spirit and AirTran have no need to institute such a policy.

A round-trip ticket (bought 21 days in advance) from Newark to Louisville, Ky., on US Airways costs $347 and requires the passenger to stay a minimum of one night, according to BestFares.com. Meanwhile, the same flight on other major carriers like Continental, Northwest and Delta requires a Saturday night stay-over and, in some cases, cost considerably more (tickets ranged from $347 to $427).

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