Cheapest Airfare Rates

Are There Ways to Get Dirt Cheap Airline Tickets Without Sacrificing Quality?

There is not one industry that has been immune to the economic crisis that we are currently experiencing; and as a result, these industries are offering all manner of incentives to draw in customers. The housing market, which faced its biggest slump in nearly two decades, is slowly beginning to climb out of its financial hell. Builders are offering almost insane incentives to grab consumers ready to tip their toes into the real estate waters.

Not to be outdone, the tourism, travel and airline industries are partnering together to offer vacation packages that include round-trip air fare, hotel accommodations and resort excursions. All it takes is a little patience and Internet savvy to find these deals.

Before you begin to search for dirt cheap travel deals, you must decide when you want to get away and where you are interested in going. Then consider whether you are the least bit flexible in either one of these details. Being flexible often times allows you the ability to capture those “last minute” specials that occasionally come across your computer screen. In addition, there are days that are just cheaper to travel. If you fly out on a Saturday with a Tuesday return flight, cheaper fares and great seat availability may be your reward.

Okay, so you have your dates, your desired locale and you’ve allowed for some flexibility. Grab a cup of coffee or beverage of choice, settle in front of the computer and begin your search.

The best place to start is to do a Google search. Make it easy and search for “dirt cheap airline deals”. Go ahead, I’ll wait. The results are overwhelming at first, nearly 764,000 entries but (and here’s where patience comes in) weeding through, I am confident you will be able to find a vacation package that appeals to your sense of adventure and is easy on your wallet.

When skimming through the results, consider traveling on the lesser known airlines. This does not mean low-cost airlines such as JetBlue or Southwest; but rather, airlines that are less known with names such as Mesa, SkyWest, Republic and Freedom Airlines. You’ve probably never heard of these airlines, but I am quite confident that you have flown on ones that were disguised as United Express or the Delta Connection. These lesser known airlines are actually regional airlines that travel from obscure places like Medford, Oregon to United Airline’s hub in San Francisco, or from Little Rock to U. S. Airways’ hub in Charlotte. (You get the picture). European and Asian travel markets also have lesser known airlines that travel to their areas, including Ryanair, Easyjet, Jetstar or Malaysia Airlines. Although you may not be able to fly direct from the United States on these airlines, they are a viable alternative for international travel.

Despite the airlines’ boast to the contrary, you can get better deals without buying directly from them. Discount travel sites such as Expedia.com and Orbitz are one place to begin your search; however, another viable option is to contact travel agents who may have agreements with a large travel company and can negotiate lower rates. Too, a travel agent may be able to get you first class seats for coach prices by booking the flights under codes such as YUPP, QUPP or Z. These codes automatically award the ticketholder upgrades to first class because they may be matching a low-cost carrier in a particular market.

Another tried and true travel savings tip is to plan to leave from a larger city to avoid paying higher prices. If you are in close proximity to a city such as Atlanta, Dallas, Boston or Los Angeles, consider driving to these airports instead of flying out of perhaps a more convenient regional airport in your home city.

Lastly, I am going to share a little secret of mine – www.ebates.com. This nifty little site offers cash rebates (yes, I said cash) if you purchase anything from the merchants that are listed on the site. The categories are endless – clothing, appliances, baby items, air fares, hotels, car rentals, to name a few. These merchants advertise on ebates and offer either rebates and coupons which are held in your ebates account and distributed to you in a manner you choose. You can get your rebates, which are paid out on a quarterly basis, in what they affectionately term a “Big Fat Check”, in deposit form to your PayPal account or in a donation to a charity, organization or a family member. The savings quickly adds up and it’s a win-win idea.

So, armed with these travel tips, search away and good luck finding your next vacation getaway!

Tags: dirt cheap flights, low cost airlines, Low Cost Flights, travel industry

How to Find Airfare Deals

A few years back, getting good airfare deals was next to impossible. Air travel was considered a luxury for many and in most cases; you had to be going on a business trip or on a well-planned vacation to take flights. Today, things have changed in a big way. Extremely cheap flights can now be gotten at astonishing fares. Some of the lowest airfares can be worth a bunch of burghers from a city to another. These extremely cheap flights are very common in Europe and in some American cities.

The competition among airlines in recent years has seen the once costly inter-continental flight fares come down drastically. Budget travel has also been seen by many airlines as being profitable and this realization has made available cheap airfare deals. In the future, flying will likely be cheapest way of travel.

Getting fare airfare deals can be achieved in many ways. The fact that many airlines have a budget travel package makes it possible for anyone to get extremely cheap airfare deals. By following a few tactics, anyone can track down cheap deals, despite the ongoing recession.

A drop in air travel has pushed many airlines to introduce subsidized fares by offering bonanza sales. It is now possible to get extremely cheap airfare deals with the current situation. Furthermore, these flights have less congestion in planes, airports and the hotels. The current situation is likely to continue till June. In the meantime, this is the one of the best times to travel at very low airfares.

Signing up for deal newsletters and price alerts can also get you a good airfare deal. Once you subscribe to airline websites, you get alerts when affordable flights are made available. Signing up gives one among the first opportunities to get these deals. Subscriber-only deals are also available. These web alerts are the main focus that many airlines are putting into in order to get people to go to their websites and eventually purchase a ticket.

Look out for destination spots that have been hard hit by the recession. It is likely that travel to these places is now affordable. Some of the lowest airfares can also be found by looking out for these spots. Remember to ‘shop around’ and get the cheapest fares.

You may have heard of ‘destination tourists’. Going through these dealers can get you a negotiated fare on certain routes. They work by negotiating the fares with the airlines. Sine they negotiate for large number of tickets, you will likely get a good airfare deal from them.

Discounts for families, students and seniors are also offered by many airlines. Get to know if you qualify to these discounts which can substantially cut down the airfare. Another way is to go for last-minute web fares. Thought these may have some of the lowest airfares, they are risky since it means once they don’t go through, one may the flight entirely.

Tags: airfare deals, airfare discount, cheap airfare, cheapest airfare, low cost airlines, Low Cost Flights, lowest airfares

Finding Cheap Airfare Online

Not so many years ago, we had to call out travel agent to book an airline ticket. He would in turn have to call the airline and make the bookings. The price of airline tickets was printed weeks in advance, and it remained more or less fixed. Gone are those days in the age of internet connectivity and availability of low-budget carriers.

The number of flights that take off every single day has risen dramatically and so has the number of low cost airlines. This has resulted in a drastic decline in prices and it is now possible to get airfare deals today that were unthinkable just a few years ago. However, it is not always easy to find the cheapest airfare easily, and the task of having to rummage through a number of different websites to find the best deals can be daunting. Here are a few tips to help you find yourself some really cheap airfares:

• Choose the date of travel carefully and early: It is now common knowledge that when you buy airline tickets early, you save. Plan to buy tickets at least three weeks before travel. But, this is not enough. You will see that the prices of tickets vary to a great extent from one day of the week to another. You are advised to look at the ticket costs on different days of the week before choosing the cheapest option. This is, of course, only possible if your travel schedule allows you flexibility.
• Research: Check out a big travel search engines like Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. to get a general sense of ticket pricing. Check out various date and day options and you will have a fair idea of ticket costs. But, it is important to remember that a number of low cost flights are not associated with such aggregator websites and you will need to look at these websites separately to find the best airfare discounts.
• Use alternative airports: You are likely to find that avoiding a big city airport can also help save you money. Instead of landing at the New York City airport, you can consider a flight to New Jersey or even Philadelphia and complete the rest of your journey by road. At the end, you are likely to have saved more money, especially if you are traveling in a group.
• Cheapest Airfare: Once you have decided your dates and your destination airport, you need to ensure that you get the cheapest airfare. You need to compare prices from aggregator sites and websites of low cost airlines. You also need to check on travel deals that are offered across the web. A number of low cost airlines have a newsletter that keeps you updated of ticket prices and travel deals, if any. They also promote a number of web-only deals. Subscribing to these newsletters can be an effective way of keeping track of airfare discount.

While you shouldn’t need to spend more time on booking tickets than you will spend on your visit, it is important for a regular traveler to know how to find the best airfare deals on the internet.

Tags: airfare deals, airfare discount, cheap airfare, cheapest airfare, low cost airlines, Low Cost Flights