Finding travel deals could take some hunting this fall

For passengers, that means fall fare deals likely won’t be as good as you might expect in a sluggish economy. “The airfares don’t seem significantly down,’’ said Jeanenne Tornatore of the travel booking site Orbitz.

Not that there aren’t any fare deals at all this fall. Indeed, a number of carriers are offering deep discounts to sunny California, for one. Virgin America launched a sale - ending Tuesday - on flights from Boston to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego for as low as $238 round-trip. AirTran Airways is also offering tickets to Los Angeles and San Francisco for $238. And American Airlines has $198 fares to Burbank and Ontario and $238 to Santa Barbara.

Abby Lunardini, a Virgin America spokeswoman, said the sale doesn’t reflect the airline’s outlook on travel this fall. “We’re cautiously optimistic about fall travel, and we’re seeing some good trends in terms of booking,’’ Lunardini said.

Deals in Hawaii abound, too. Gabe Saglie, senior editor of travel deal site Travelzoo, said a $754 fare to Honolulu and a $776 fare to Maui - both on American - as some of the better Boston deals he’s seen. “The fares that are really raising eyebrows are to California - especially smaller, regional airports - and even Hawaii - two hot destinations,’’ said Saglie.

If you’re longing to get out of the country in September, the Caribbean also has some deals. American has a $413 fare from Boston to Aruba, Continental Airlines is flying from Boston to Cancun for $296, and British Airways is offering a $545 ticket to Madrid.

But travelers beware: Holding out for the best deals may not be the best plan. The deals that are out there may be fleeting, they say. That’s partly because major US airlines, which according to the International Air Transport Association have posted a combined loss of $373 million in the second quarter, may need to further reduce capacity in the fall. That means fares could head north again.

“The really, really cheap stuff, it looks like it’s beginning to dry up,’’ said Graeme Wallace of FareCompare.com, a travel website.