A few good fare finds this morning:
San Francisco to Los Angeles $78/roundtrip + tax on Virgin America
San Francisco to Cleveland, OH $144/roundtrip +tax on United Airlines
Both fares available 7 days a week including weekends.
virgin america sale and farecompare

San Francisco to Orlando, FL $199RT taxes included. Frontier Airlines. 14-day advance purchase required, and the fare is available 7-days a week through early next year.
Visit farecompare.com or frontierairlines.com

Southwest Airlines Intra-California Sale

Though not the best fares Southwest sometimes offers, these aren't so bad either.
Book by August 23 for travel August 28 through January 11, 2008. Fares are each way.
14 Day advance purchase on these tickets, valid most days (including peak travel days Friday & Sunday!)

Oakland, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

Sacramento, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

San Jose, CA $49 to/from
Burbank, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Ontario, CA
San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA$49 to/from
San Diego, CA(Service beginsAugust 26, 2007.)

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose - Coastal Mexico (Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo/Cancun) $300 taxes included
Valid on Delta Airlines & Mexicana depending on airports you fly to/from
Through December 18th. Farecompare

Megabus pulls into the Bay Area this week

MegaBus is expanding their coach service to the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning Wednesday, Bay Area buses begin rolling non-stop from the Bay Area to Los Angeles city center with travel time less than 7 hours.

So where is the flight tie-in since this is a travel blog?

OK There is no direct connection! But, with the first 4 seats on each coach costing a mere $1 each (there are 56 seats total on each bus), a fairly quick ride south dropping you off near downtown L.A and 3 X daily service - including a "red eye" bus ride (leave 1130pm arrive L.A 6am), it's certainly worth considering over a flight to LAX.

What about Greyhound? (oh yea...Greyhound)

They're still around, and with a well established infrastructure of schedules and routes, it would seem Megabus is driving against some stiff competition. Megabus asserts however that their low price, tiered pricing structure (tickets never cost more than $36 each way) and non-stop service make them a superior product.

What I see absent from their press release is how coach service will meet a need for travelers. In the U.S at least, shady stories are ever present as it relates to Greyhound, not the least bit because of where the bus stations are located. A marketing campaign to drive people onto the buses because of a superior product such as service, onboard movies/entertainment or buy-on-board food is needed. The company should also remove itself from the present image of a dark, seedy Greyhound Bus Station by emphasizing where bus drop off points are located (ie: Cal-Train Station in the exciting SOMA, or near Dodger Stadium in L.A).

Still, Megabus is an option people have as an alternative to air travel, at least to Los Angeles for now. While I doubt business travelers are lining up to purchase, small groups of friends may find some fun riding the bus down to L.A for the weekend. Megabus

Source: Megabus Press Release

San Francisco - New York City non-stop $219/RT w/taxes Aug 18-Sept 29th
Travel not allowed on Fridays or Sundays. Booking through Travelocity

Alaska Airlines Fall Sale announced today. Selected city examples;
San Francisco - San Diego $39 each way ($98 roundtrip, taxes included)
Sacramento - Palm Springs $69 each way
Sacramento - Portland $49 each way
San Francisco - Los Angeles $44 each way

Book now, for travel September 5-December 18th.

JetBlue commences San Francisco
- Salt Lake City flights today

The airline is offering introductory $79/one way fares booked now through August 8th for travel between September 5-November 14th.

JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach, and is the only airline to offer free seatback satellite television -- featuring the airline's signature 36 channels of DIRECTV(r) -- on all flights to/from Salt Lake City International Airport. They have plenty of complimentary munchies and drinks on board as well.

The 1X daily flight leaves SFO at 420pm arriving Salt Lake City at 715pm except on Saturdays when the flight leaves at 220pm, arriving SLC 535pm local time.

On May 3rd, JetBlue began offering flights out of San Francisco. This new daily Salt Lake City service compliments the nonstop flights already offered to Boston and New York City.

Monterey - Miami, FL $143 + tax roundtrip on United Airlines
Valid for travel through May 08, Saturday night stay required.
Fare Basis: LE14NNX

Some other decent deals available from Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose to Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach starting at about $25 more with varying restrictions. Travelocity

United punches away at Virgin America's intro fares

ROUND 1 630pm
After nearly 16 hours of swift ticket sales by San Francisco startup airline Virgin America, United Airlines is punching back hard, beating away at Virgin's introductory fares.

United has loading the following amazing fares;
SFO-Los Angeles $65rt taxes included (that's $22 each way + tax!)
SFO-New York $160rt taxes included
SFO-Washington $150rt taxes included
These fares are confirmed and available for travel August 9th through November 11th and are subject to availability. Looks like the New York flights require 1 stop (Chicago, Washington, etc) for that fare. "L" class inventory. Use Farecompare.com to find these fares. Get'em while they last.

Good Fare: Just posted - Oakland to Kansas City $98 roundtrip + tax on Delta Airlines

A few decent fares from the Bay Area this morning:
San Francisco - San Diego $39 each way on United for travel starting August 16th
San Francisco - Salt Lake City $59 each way on JetBlue for travel starting July 27th
Oakland- Long Beach $44 each way on JetBlue for travel starting August 9th

Search tools: Travelocity & Farecompare utilizing "flexible dates" tool

Good Fare.
San Francisco to Minneapolis, MN $128rt+ tax (About $168) on United Airlines
Valid for most of the remaining 2007 year.

American Airlines officially released Dealfinder today, a downloadable desktop tool reportably to offer people more options and control when booking travel. The program was available on a limited Beta basis before today. Some say it has the same feel as Southwest Airlines Ding! downloadable program, but has fallen short since it focuses on more vacation packages and less on bargain basement cheap down and dirty give it to me for next to free fares, that Southwest sometimes offers. Also unlike Southwest, American hasn't so far announced any free miles/credits for giving the program a try.

Sacramento to San Juan, Puerto Rico $331rt taxes included

Another great deal from Sac-Town. Fare is available now, must travel Sept 4-Nov 15th.
Available on United or American using "flexible dates" option. Earns 7500-8500 base frequent flyer miles depending on how many connections you desire. "W" booking class.

SUNDAY MORNING AIRFARES
No heart-stopping airfare deals the past couple weeks. But, if history repeats itself, expect some hot Europe airfares to come out later this Summer valid for travel dates after October.

SAN FRANCISCO - SAN DIEGO $78+tax round trip ($98 all in) Alaska Airlines
SAN FRANCISCO - LAS VEGAS $88+tax round trip United and US Air
SAN JOSE - CABO SAN LUCAS $178+tax round trip ($286 all in) American Airlines
Be sure to check rules & terms of each airfare. Las Vegas deal for example is valid for travel August 27-October 31st on non-peak travel days only.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Emergency Travel - Bereavement Fares

Sorting out flight arrangements is often the least concern when a distant family member has recently died or is imminent. Search engines likes Travelocity and Expedia make it much easier to sort schedules and fares for most of the airlines allowing you to choose what makes the most sense. But, sometimes you need some flexibility.

One option is redeeming frequent flyer miles for an air ticket. They often have more flexibility than a standard purchased ticket, with many airlines allowing you to change dates/times of departure at no fee providing there are still available seats.

A more classic option, Bereavement fares, can also provide customers options such as open return dates - because who knows how long you may need to stay at the destination to work through family matters. This program is usually available to immediate family members including domestic partners. But, not all airlines offer Bereavement fares any longer, so you need to call the airlines directly to find out.

Prices range from 10-75% off the FULL FARE price of a ticket for the same routing. Therefore, Bereavement fares are not always the least expensive - but again, can offer a greater ability to make changes as needed during your travel.

San Francisco to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Under $600 round-trip

I'm pricing out San Francisco to Rio Brazil for $598 round-trip, taxes included on American Airlines. (Thanks MeVoy on Flyertalk). Interesting connection options in Miami/Dallas/New York/ and/or Sao Paulo, would potentially earn up to 14,000 base frequent flyer miles for this trip. Valid travel dates August 5-December 12th "Q" class. I booked out a week in September with plenty of flight availability.

South America fares are typically pretty high, in part because of limited service from the U.S.
That makes this deal hot. Keep in mind Brazil has a $100 Visa fee and several travelers have reported petty theft and elevated levels of fear in Rio over the years. That said, Brazil is a wonderful country to visit, and spending a few days in Rio than venturing elsewhere in the Country may be a good option.

Southwest accepting reservations through Jan 11th
As of this morning, Southwest began accepting reservations on its website through January 11, 2008; time to start shopping Holiday and New Years flights? Unlike mainline carriers who allow bookings nearly a year in advance, Southwest restricts its schedule usually to 6 months or less. Some have reported finding some really great fares the first couple days Southwest opens up its schedule.

San Francisco - Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas (XNA) $88+ tax round trip on American
Looks like you need to travel outbound on a Saturday, with departures mostly in September. Use AA.com or Travelocity and choose the "flexible dates" option.

Having visited Arkansas recently, I can attest to the natural beauty of the region. This makes for a great couple days visit to escape the buzz of the city and relax in the great outdoors.
The Clinton Library isn't to far from here either.

UPDATE: Fare gone!