Q & A: Expert explores travel impact

Tom Parsons is the CEO of bestfares.com, and the editor of a magazine also called Bestfares.com. CNN.com asked Parsons how Tuesday's terrorist acts will affect travelers.

CNN: Would people be wise, if they don't have to fly, to steer clear of it?

Parsons: I think it's going to take people up until probably Sunday at least before we see things back to just normal flight schedules, and that's if we don't get any storms somewhere. ... I would say if you can wait until Sunday or sometime early next week you'll have a little bit better shot. You also won't have to deal with a whole bunch of people at the airport who are testing the security system for the first time.

CNN: What if you have decided you don't want to fly at all and you've already got a ticket? It looks like a lot of airlines are relaxing their ordinary rules.

Parsons: You have to look at each and every one. If you don't want to fly right now and you were scheduled to fly the last three or four or five days, you've got a real good chance of getting your money back. … There's a lot of flexibility. The problem is there is no consistency.

CNN: If I had to rent a car to complete a trip when the airports were shut down, do I have to pay a penalty fee for a one-way trip?

Parsons: A lot of people and a lot of the car rental companies at the beginning on Tuesday were stating if you're going to rent a car you have to bring it back to the same location. I know Alamo was one of the first to come back and change their minds and say we will not charge you any fees, because people started picking up cars and left town anyway. I had two of my people do it and once we got back they didn't charge us a fee for the one-way drop.

CNN: Is this likely to have any short-term or long-term effect on airfares?

Parsons: I think the international airlines are going to be worried, and they've learned the best way to get people on there is to push them on there with cheap airfares. And I wouldn't be surprised that somewhere down the line, some time in the next couple of months, that we don't see airfares, especially to London, under $200 round-trip.

CNN: How concerned should the public be about the safety of air travel?

Parsons: I do believe the skies are going to be safe, but then, I'm not flying this week. … The only thing that would change my mind now was if something else happened. If nothing else happens I think you'll see other people gradually, too, returning to the skies. … We have 40,000 flights a day on weekdays, and last Tuesday we lost four. The odds are probably still better flying today than winning the New Jersey lottery or winning any state lottery. The chances of you getting hurt in a car are still probably very high vs. getting hurt on an airplane.