Fly to Mexico starting at $96 each way

By Brad Tuttle
October 3, 2012
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Courtesy <a href="http://mybt.budgettravel.com/_cancun-2009-005jpg/photo/4446713/21864.html">marmel/myBudgetTravel</a>

Sick of winter already? Well, you're in luck: Flights to Mexico are on sale.

An American Airlines sale to Mexico offers flights starting for as little as $96 each way (Chicago to Guadalajara). A sampling of a few of the other routes on sale: $117 (Boston to Cozumel), $119 (St. Louis to Cancun, Washington-Dulles to Cancun), and $159 (Dallas to Cozumel). These are all one-way fares, based on passengers booking round trips. Once fees, taxes, and the price of the return flight are added in, the round trip total for that Chicago-Guadalajara flight would be a little over $300, for example. To get these sale prices with American, tickets must be purchased by January 21.

Most major airlines that compete with American on routes to Mexico are matching these fares, so if American doesn't have availability, check and see if another carrier has seats open (and inexpensively so) on your preferred dates.

And don't just limit your search to the mainstream carriers. Here are three airlines you might not think about for flights south of the border, but should:

Southwest Airlines partner Volaris is selling tickets starting at $157 round trip between Los Angeles and Guadalajara, and routes such as San Jose-Guadalajara and Los Angeles-Zacatecas are all starting under $200 round trip. Taxes and fees are extra, and tickets must be purchased by January 24.

Virgin America is celebrating its two new routes (Los Angeles to Cancun and San Francisco to Cancun) with fares starting at $139 each way.

Finally, USA3000, a quasi-charter carrier best known as the preferred airline of vacation packager Apple Vacations, is offering $99.99 flights to Cancun from Cleveland and Philadelphia, to Punta Cana from Cincinnati, to Puerto Vallarta from St. Louis, and to Jamaica from St. Louis. Availability at the cheapest fares is extremely limited, however, and it's far more likely you'll find seats for $160 or $200 each way, plus another $100 or so for taxes and fees. All USA300 flights are non-stop, which is nice.

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