Travel Deals

Hot deals on the cold slopes of Santa Fe make for quick and affordable skigetaways

Fresh powder awaits you on the slopes in Santa Fe.
Although the holidays are over, Santa Fe still glistens with magical touches.
Santa Fe's varied landscape is great for winter skiing, hiking or simplyshopping in the downtown areas.

Just because the holidays are over doesn’t have to mean the vacation has to end. Winter made a pit stop in Dallas during Christmas, but the light snowfall likely left you wanting more.

Luckily, it’s a new year, and your vacation days have instantly recharged. Sure, you could save them for a beach trip in the summer. But that is months away — and it requires a swimsuit-ready body. If you’'re more comfortable bundling up than stripping down, then Santa Fe, New Mexico is just your style.

Yes, a January vacation is a bit unconventional, but you always were a free spirit. Plus, the lower demand means better deals. Santa Fe is only 45 minutes by plane from Dallas, making it a closer choice than Colorado hot spots. Plus it is less crowded.

The proximity doesn't mean less snow, though. With an average of 300 inches of snow a year and more than 300 sunny days a year to enjoy them, Santa Fe is the perfect place to get away for the weekend for a quick, luxurious stay at a cozy ski resort so you can come back to the office refreshed and reenergized.

The interwebs can be a mighty fortress, so we’ve sought out the season’s best specials, all good until March 2013:

The Inn & Spa at Loretto offers two packages for guests looking to hit the slopes. The Buenos Dias Bed and Breakfast Package gives guests a hearty, gourmet start before heading down the mountain, while the Santa Fe Ski Package includes accommodations, a neck warmer, $25 per day hotel credit, and recommended options for skiing and snowboarding.

Santa Fe Sage Inn is offering a guests free skiing at Ski Santa Fe when they book a two-night, double occupancy room starting at $239.

Hotel Chimayo de Santa Fe includes a made-to-order breakfast for two with a deluxe room or suite for stays between Sunday and Thursday. The Get Out and Ski Santa Fe Package includes breakfast to go in a charming room or suite.

The Lodge at Santa Fe has a Ski Santa Fe and Save Package with great room rates plus a grab-and-go breakfast and hot cocoa to get skiers and boarders on the slopes first thing in the morning. The Lodge is also promoting a Third Night Free Package that includes 20 percent off at the hotel’s restaurant or bar.

The Inn at Santa Fe is currently running a 2013 Ski Package that includes one night’s accommodation, breakfast and two lift tickets to Ski Santa Fe for only $195.

Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa has a special incentive for booking a private villa, starting at $399. It comes with a $100 resort credit, a bottle of wine, and chocolate-covered strawberries. The Ski Santa Fe Package lets guests enjoy all the winter activities on the property — hiking, hot tubbing, snowshoeing and sledding on more than 450 acres of forested land — and comes with breakfast and ski packages for two from $149.

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Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

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