Chris Campbell asked:


Many folks these days, seem to go with the common assumption, that if you fly somewhere, it’s going to cost big bucks. Hundreds or even over a thousand dollars. If your buying tickets for more than one person, those dollars can quickly add up. Well, it’s true that some passengers will spend that much money, you don’t have to.

There are a number of strategies you can employ to get cheaper airline tickets, you just need to understand how the system works.

If your planning on flying during the busier times of the year, then you really need to plan ahead. Those last minute bargains really don’t come into play during peak flying times. I’m talking like Christmas, and the week of March break. Get your tickets at least four to six months ahead of these periods.

Sometimes however, the opposite strategy may work as well. There are still last minute deals for cheap tickets available. The keyword for you here is flexibility. The more flexible you can be about dates, and specific destinations, the better you can do here. Retirement folks and those with extend vacations periods like teachers can easily take advantage of these offers.

The internet is a god send for cheap ticket searchers. Never in our history has there been so many easy was as a consumer to find great deals. You can compare flights and vacation pacakages like Travelocity and Expedia. You also gut out an extra middle man, since you are essentially your own travel agent. The nice part, is you don’t have to worry about someone else messing up your travel itinerary . And charging you for it.

4. Knowing When to Buy

It can be easy to track the rising and falling prices of airline fares but actually knowing when to buy is tricky. A great resource for those flying in the United States is Farecast, which provides fare predictions for over 75 cities. All you have to do is enter your itinerary information and Farecast will tell you whether to buy now or wait it out, depending on which way the fare is predicted to rise or fall.

Another important way to know when to buy is by keeping in mind that many airlines put out fare sales each week on Tuesday and Wednesday. So if you can book on those days you have a better chance of snagging a good deal.

Search out the smaller discounter airlines. They’re the no frills airlines. You may not get fancy food, drinks, and silverware on your flights, but you will have more money to spend once you get there. Talk with friends or family, and check out any of the travel forums and groups online. You’ll get plenty of advice from those places. Be sure to check out all the facts throughly, don’t just believe everything you hear.



Patty

Susan Kohlback asked:


In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of low cost airlines. With Southwest Airlines leading the way, new entrants RyanAir and EasyJet quickly attracted mainstream travelers in Europe and brought low cost airlines out of the shadows. The European low fare airlines have become so popular in fact that airline rates are often substantially lower than train tickets for travel between European capitals. In the US, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airways, Air Tran, Jet Blue and now Virgin America have all made a name for themselves as low fare carriers. Recently there has also been low fare expansion with routes between major US gateways and cities in Europe. Eurofly Airlines for instance flies popular routes between the United States and Italy at about half the fare as the legacy carriers.

But here’s where it gets tricky. There are fees involved to have tickets distributed through online booking sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, etc. Many low fare airlines refuse to pay those fees and all tickets must be purchased directly through their site. This makes it very difficult to comparison shop or even find the right low cost airline for the route you’ll be traveling. Luckily, a new breed of airline search engines have popped onto the marketplace to address just this need. Each of these sites scan both major legacy airlines AND low cost airlines to deliver the lowest airfare back to you. Have a look:

DoHop (http://www.dohop.com)

Low Cost Airlines (http://www.lowcostairlines.com)

Momondo (http://www.momondo.com)

SkyLow (http://www.skylow.com)

SkyScanner (http://www.skyscanner.net)

Which Budget (http://www.whichbudget.com)

You will likely be presented with choices on airlines you have never even heard of, so its important to do your homework once you’ve narrowed down your choices of flights. The low fare airlines do not have low prices out of the goodness of their hearts, they scrimp on service wherever they can to save money. You’ll want to visit the airline’s site to read about their rules,

restrictions and fees before purchasing a ticket. Also, expect to pay extra for each piece of checked luggage, every drink of liquid, morsel of food, or bit of entertainment. Finally, see what other travelers have had to say about their flight performance on consumer rating sites like Jaunted (http://www.jaunted.com) and Epinions (http://www.epinions.com).

With a bit of advanced planning, you’ll be flying to your next vacation destination at a fraction of the regular price.



Yagi

utopian_wildfire asked:


travelocity, cheaptickets, jetblue, and usairways used to be where I would go, among thousands of other places, but i can’t find cheap tickets anymore. Where can i go?

Sebastien