By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP, AP Airlines Writer – Mon Sep 27, 11:30 pm ET

NEW YORK – Southwest’s decision to buy AirTran will mean more routes and fewer delays and cancellations in small cities but higher fares in the Northeast and perhaps the end of the super-low sale fare.

Southwest Airlines, which has built a loyal following with its tongue-in-cheek ads and refusal to charge for checked bags, said Monday it planned to buy AirTran for $1.4 billion.

The deal will move Southwest into 37 new cities, expand its presence in cities like New York and Boston and move it into Atlanta, the busiest airport in the nation.

Combining the AirTran and Southwest routes means more connecting options for people flying through places like Moline, Ill., and Wichita, Kan., which should result in fewer delays and cancellations because there will be more options for rerouting passengers.

In bigger cities like the Northeast hubs, however, fares will probably eventually go up. They may not rise right away because many of those cities are still served by a third discounter, JetBlue Airways, said fare expert George Hobica.

The acquisition may also spell the end of the deep-discount sales currently offered by AirTran and Southwest because there will be less competition. Right now, for example, AirTran is offering a $54 one-way fare between Baltimore and Boston.

"The era of irrational, stupid, destructive fare sales is over," Hobica said. "This is the new normal. JetBlue now has permission to raise prices between Baltimore and Boston. Other airlines now have permission to raise prices between Washington, D.C., and Florida."

In welcome news for weary travelers, Southwest said it will drop AirTran’s bag fees when the pair combine in 2012. Right now, AirTran charges $20 for the first checked bag, $25 for the second.

Some major airlines charge even more. Southwest claims it has lured passengers by refusing to charge for bags, and it has built a marketing campaign around the policy, with baggage handlers shouting declarations of love to suitcases on the tarmac.

The combined airline probably won’t be large enough to pressure big competitors like United and American to give up the hundreds of millions of dollars a year they make from baggage fees, airline analyst Jay Sorensen said.

While Southwest will be about 25 percent larger when the deal is complete, it will remain the fourth-largest by traffic. The upcoming combination of United and Continental will be No. 1, followed by Delta and the parent of American.

Southwest will move into Atlanta, the only major business hub it doesn’t already serve. Business travelers are key to airlines because they tend to pay higher fares. In an interview with The Associated Press, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Atlanta was a "gaping hole in our route system."

Southwest also gains routes to Mexico and the Caribbean, where JetBlue has a big presence.

The buyout is the latest in a wave of consolidation in the airline industry. Continental and United will topple Delta as the largest airline in the world when they combine this week. Delta got the title when it bought Northwest in 2008. In the past 10 years, 10 major airlines have paired off, leaving five fewer.

The deal will leave only four major airlines without suitors: American, US Airways, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines. Several experts suggest the unexpected Southwest deal will pressure American to tie up with US Airways, or possibly JetBlue.

AirTran was founded in 1992 as ValuJet Airlines. It was renamed after the 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592 into the Florida Everglades, which killed all 110 people on board. It would be Southwest’s largest acquisition by far.

Southwest founder Herb Kelleher, a cigarette-smoking, Wild Turkey-drinking Texas lawyer, revolutionized the airline industry in the 1970s by offering low fares to leisure travelers out of secondary airports. Early on, the airline drew customers by passing out booze and putting flight attendants in hot pants.

The company, which began with a handful of planes hopping among three Texas cities, bought Morris Air and Muse Air in the mid-1980s. Two years ago, it bought assets of ATA Airlines out of bankruptcy and began limited service to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Last year, Southwest tried unsuccessfully to buy Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy. Republic AirwaysHoldings won the auction instead and bought it for $109 million.

Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran is expected to close in the first half of next year. It requires both regulatory and shareholder approval.

Based on Southwest Airlines’ closing share price on Friday, the deal is worth $7.69 per AirTran share. That’s a 69 percent premium over its closing price of $4.55. AirTran shares jumped 62 percent to $7.36, while Southwest shares rose $1.73 to $14.01.

Southwest will pay about $670 million with available cash and assume $2 billion in AirTran debt. Southwest and AirTran said the new airline will operate from more than 100 different airports and serve more than 100 million customers.

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Here is an article explaining more about booking discount Cruises as reported by AARP

Low bookings for the cruise lines means a shipload of savings for you

Don’t let the storm-tossed economy discourage you from sailing on a cruise. With fewer people booking passage and more (and bigger) cruise ships being launched, cruising has become a buyer’s market. Here’s how to find the lowest fare at the best time.

Look for bulk buyers
Check out cruise consolidators, which buy large blocks of cabins from the cruise lines at a deep discount. Most of the deals don’t include airfare, but the savings are significant, and companies such as CruiseOne.com, CruiseBrothers.com, and Cruise.com feature dozens of discounted cruises around the world every week.

Don’t shrug off "shoulder season"
Rates are lower between peak and off-peak seasons, when fewer people are escaping winter. Try sailing to Alaska in mid-May or early September; to the Caribbean in late April or September and October; to Hawaii in late August, late November, February, or May; or to the Mediterranean in March or November.

Check the school calendar
Avoid any time kids are on vacation, such as spring or summer break. That’s when the supply of empty cabins is usually the lowest—and prices for them are highest. Cruises are wildly affordable right after Labor Day and during the week after Thanksgiving, for example.

Wait…Wait… Okay, now book it!
If you don’t have a specific cruise date in mind, try waiting until the last minute to book online. Almost all cruise lines quietly unload any remaining inventory as the departure date draws closer. Note: "Last minute" doesn’t mean what it used to. Post-9/11 security regulations require cruise lines to close the list of passengers as much as 96 hours before sailing.

Keep That Sail a Sale

Cruise lines don’t make a profit on your cabin, so they try to separate you from your money the second they pull up the gangplank. Here’s how to keep your budget afloat.

Factor in tipping
Some cruise lines automatically add gratuities, while others still rely on passengers to make that decision. One helpful resource is cruisetip.tpkeller.com, which calculates the suggested tip per day for each major cruise line.

Stick with the main dining room
More and more cruise ships have specialty—restaurants to give passengers options beyond the cost—included main dining room and midnight buffet. But eating at one of the ships’ designer restaurants will run you extra: on Royal Caribbean International, for example, dinner at Chops Grille is $25 per guest.

Budget for booze
Don’t expect to bring your own. Most cruise lines frown on this, and some actually employ a "liquor retention team" to seize alcohol not purchased on board (the bottles are returned at the end of the cruise).