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Sue Crone shops online for the best airfare — but usually a couple of months in advance.

So when she logged on two weeks before Thanksgiving, Crone was happy to discover that she and her husband could fly from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to Oklahoma City for about $118 each way during the normally bustling holiday — a cheaper fare than they expected.

"I was shocked," Crone, of Brighton, said before she and her husband, Breion, boarded their American Airlines flight on Wednesday to visit their daughter in Yukon, Okla.

With Americans fretting over the state of the nation’s economy, many travelers are staying home, meaning air carriers are having a tougher time filling their planes than for past holiday seasons. As a result, air fares that no so long ago were rising have suddenly begun to fall, industry watchers say. Some airlines already have offered fare sales — or trumpeted low fares to some destinations for the holidays.

"With no sign of an economic recovery in the near future, many of the major airlines are discounting airfares this holiday season much more than we expected," said Tom Parsons, CEO of the discount travel website Bestfares.com.

The economic crisis, coupled with new airline charges for checked bags and ticket changes, is one reason fewer consumers are booking flights, Parsons said. Falling gasoline prices also have made driving a viable option to some travelers, and many companies are cutting back business travel, suggesting tougher times are ahead for airline carriers.

"Imagine how many bargain-basement airfare sales (airlines) will have to offer us in the first three months of 2009 to get us back in the air and flying," Parsons said.

American listed winter fares of $49 each way between Dallas-Fort Worth and Lambert, and $79 each way between Miami and Lambert for off-peak, economy-class tickets purchased before Monday. The prices apply only to round-trip travel purchased on AA.com for travel between Tuesday and Feb. 26.

Southwest Airlines extended its latest winter fare sale through Thursday for air travel between Dec payday loan. 12 and Feb. 28. It includes $79 one-way between Oklahoma City and St. Louis.

Representatives of American and Southwest Airlines, the major carriers serving Lambert, acknowledged last week that overall passenger demand has slipped compared to this quarter last year.

American and other airlines already had trimmed their flight schedules by 10 percent or more in the face of soaring fuel costs last summer.

"It had a lot to do with the high fuel prices," said American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner. "But now that those have pulled back a little bit you are seeing the fiscal issues in the United States starting to affect consumer demand."

Still, the Air Transport Association predicted a high percentage of the remaining available seats would be bought up during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Traveler Sara Meystedt of Brentwood said she considered her round-trip airfare to Nashville, Tenn., that she had booked the week before to be "reasonable" at $350.

"It’s certainly worth the price," she said before leaving to visit her father over Thanksgiving.

Sluggish air travel is being felt by other businesses as well.

"We have definitely seen some softening really starting in August," said Mark Wildman, vice president of marketing for the Parking Spot.

The Chicago-based company has three parking facilities serving Lambert, and demand is tied directly to the number of passengers who board flights in St. Louis. Wildman said the company’s main St. Louis location saw demand slip 8.5 percent in August, but the trend improved slightly in September and October.

As a result, he said, the company stepped up its marketing efforts through the end of the year.

kleiser@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8215

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