Search Results for: blog finding cheap airfare online

The Challenge of Finding Cheap Airfare

As if finding cheap airfare wasn’t hard enough, some carriers are now making the job even more challenging. Online travel aggregate sites, such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity are designed to allow travelers to compare airfare prices without having to spend hours visiting dozens of individual airline webpages. The popular online travel agencies provide the convenience of one-stop shopping for customers, but charge the carriers commissions of roughly $10 to $25 a ticket which they say eat into their profit margins. Unfortunately, more and more airlines are looking to get out of the aggregate site line-up. For example, earlier this … Continue reading →

More Ways to Find Cheap Airfare Online

Regular readers of this blog know that I am all about finding new ways to take the hassle out of the time-consuming process of tracking down the best online airfares. I’ve shared a few of my standbys in previous blogs and have a few more to add in this post. BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS It’s not a bad idea to add a few new fare-comparison websites to your list of “regulars.” I’m guilty as anyone when it comes to sticking with tried and true favorites such as Kayak, BookingBuddy.com, SideStep, Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity, but several new fare-comparison websites have joined … Continue reading →

Finding Cheap Airfare Online

I’ve written about strategies to find the cheapest airfare in cyberspace in previous blogs, but in the last few weeks I have discovered a couple of new sites that are worth mentioning. Since most of my family lives 5,000 miles away from me I regularly scour the Internet in search of discounted airfare. However, there are times I get lazy and visit just a few particular online travel agencies. As such I often miss out on cheaper fares not available through those types of booking websites. For example, last year new carriers such as Skybus and Virgin America began flying, … Continue reading →

The State of Airfares—Good News/Bad News

Let’s start with the good news: Holiday travelers rejoice; some airlines are giving you something else to be thankful for this November. Select carriers are knocking the stuffing out of ticket prices for Thanksgiving travel. The bad news: the rate reductions (some as much as 40% off) only apply to off-peak days. So, once again, being flexible is KEY! More bad news: Last weekend, several airlines increased round-trip fares by $20. Which means there have been seven fare-raising attempts by the biggest full-fare airlines since Labor Day. One travel expert told news reporters: “I’ve never seen fares go up this … Continue reading →

Finding the Cheapest Airline Tickets

Traveling is something that most everyone does but trying to find cheap airline tickets can sometimes be a challenge. I traveled full-time for a company over a five-year period, as well as traveling for vacations so I learned really fast how to find low cost airfare. The key is working with reputable online travel agencies, which can offer you the best prices, far greater than your local travel company could. Some of my favorites include Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, and Priceline.com. Each of these online resources is completely qualified and knows how to provide great service and even greater prices. … Continue reading →

Travel Savings Strategies

Choosing to fly during the off-season is an easy way to save money; however, there are many other ways you can pad your wallet when your travel plans take you to the airport.  The key to saving big is a little pre-flight strategizing. For example, if you only fly on commercial airlines a few times a year, you may have a hard time justifying the costs associated with an airport lounge membership.  Still, it’s hard to resist the comforts and services provided at these luxurious airport hangouts. Some of the perks of lounge membership include: Peace and quiet:  Most airport … Continue reading →

Free TV at 35,000 Feet

Southwest Airlines is giving passengers another way to stretch their travel dollar.  The discount airline recently announced that it will be allowing customers to watch TV for free on all Wi-Fi enabled planes. The new “TV Flies Free” offer is a budget-conscious traveler’s dream come true.  Just bring along your own personal device–iPhone, iPad, iPod or other Internet-ready gadgets–and Southwest will hook you up with satellite TV provider Dish network’s 14 live TV channels and 75 on-demand shows.  The new service is currently being offered on the airline’s 425-plus Wi-Fi equipped planes, which is nearly 75% of Southwest’s entire fleet. While … Continue reading →

How to Score Big Savings on the Road

  When you are looking for ways to reduce travel expenses start small.  You may be surprised to see that in no time those minor moves can add up to big savings. Here are a few simple money-saving tips to get you started: Stay at a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast, and then take an extra apple, banana, yogurt or granola bar to eat as a mid-afternoon or late-night snack.  It beats spending additional money feeding the vending machine or calling room service when you get hungry later in the day. Bypass big city restaurants and dine at a cheaper … Continue reading →

Paying for End-of-the-Year Travel

How has the current economy affected your holiday travel plans? According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the 2012 Christmas travel season could be the busiest in six years.  However, thanks to an unstable financial future most Americans won’t be taking to the skies to get to grandma’s house this year; rather, they will be hitting the road.  AAA is predicting that 93.3 million Americans will hit the nation’s highways during the holidays. That’s 1.6 percent more than last year and just 400,000 people shy of the 2006 record, according to the auto club.  AAA says a record 84.4 million … Continue reading →

Ways to Save Without Haggling

Bargaining, haggling, demanding, begging; none are very inviting practices for holiday travelers to exercise in order to secure a good deal. While we all love to save money on airfare, hotel accommodations and rental cars, most of us don’t really relish the idea of having to grovel in order to score a discounted rate or upgrade. Fortunately, there are ways to save without having to plead, press or petition: Plan in advance: The earlier you book the better. This is especially true if your travel dates aren’t flexible. For example, if your clan takes an annual vacation to Hawaii each … Continue reading →