How to Find Really Cheap Flights

by: Neal Brown

Airline competition has always been intense, but there are more and more resources available today that allow travelers to quickly compare fares without relying on travel agents. Here are a few of the strategies savvy travelers use.

First, start with the major airfare search engines to get a base idea of the lowest rates for your trip. www.qixo.com, www.orbitz.com, and quickfares.bestfares.com will do the job. Next, you’ll need to cover the individual airlines that aren’t covered by these engines. Southwest is one of these, so check www.southwest.com.

Your next step should be to check the airlines website for the lowest fare that you’ve found from the search engines. Before you do, make sure the fare that you’ve gotten includes all taxes and other fees. Often you can save a little by going direct to the airlines website.

Your ability to find the cheapest fares will depend greatly on your degree of flexibility in departure and return dates, and amount of time ahead of the trip that you start looking. With the number of routes being reduced by the airlines in order to fly at high as capacity as possible, it’s even more important to plan in advance these days.

If you do have some flexibility, Orbitz will allow you to select a flexible date option which will enable you to scan for the best prices up to 3 days before or after a specified date.

If you have maximum flexibility then simply wait for a good deal. Orbitz, Southwest, and others will notify you when sales run on destinations you are interested in. Check a few of the websites for the airlines that you’ve found deals on up to this point to see if they offer any type of notification service on sales. www.bestfares.com is a good resource to check for sales also.

The next strategy is to see if any special deals are available for a group that you can be associated with. Seniors, students, single women, etc. often have websites that offer discounted fares.

One last approach that’s worth a try is to bid on priceline.com. Use the lowest fare that your search has found, then place your bid 30% below it. There are more hints and resources at www.really-cheap-flight.info

About The Author

Neal Brown is a world traveler and offers more traveler resources at cheap flight.

spanmenow@hotmail.com

Buying Flights Online

by: Joseph Kenny

One of the greatest things to happen to the world of travel in recent years is the advent of low cost airlines. Not only do they offer flight travel that is cheaper than any previous airlines by far, but they also offer some other great innovations in booking and paying for flights. Part of the growth in popularity of these airlines is that they are so easy to work with online.

Unlike conventional airlines that use ticket agents and travel agents and require you to buy your tickets in person, the low cost airlines made everything available through a simple and comprehensive website that everyone could understand and use. The method of selling air tickets became so popular that these airlines are teaching the more traditional airlines how to act and are leading the way in innovation in the sale and marketing of these flights.

All it requires to buy them is a credit card or debit card. You go to the website, select your details, that is your destination airport and your departing airport, and tell them what dates you wish to travel. Immediately you are quoted prices for all the flights on that day. If you can be flexible about your travel dates, they will also show you the prices for alternative dates and let you book those flights, which may be far cheaper. The system is so open and transparent that it is a major refreshment for those people that are used to dealing with traditional ticket agents.

The convenience doesn’t end there either. You can also add travel insurance to your flight and you have full coverage for the entire trip. They already know where you are going and how long you will be there so it is the perfect place to see travel insurance.

If you need accommodation, most low cost airline websites will quote you various hotel prices while your buying your flights and will tell you how much it would cost to stay in the city you are arriving at. It is very convenient. You can even arrange for car rental at the same time. You can pick up and drop off at the airport and all the details are already in the system so they can give you customised and accurate offers that will match your needs.

More and more customers are discovering the convenience of booking all of their travel arrangements at the one website, and all you need to do it is a credit or debit card, and a little imagination.

About The Author

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the credit card comparison site http://www.cardguide.co.uk/ and also CreditCards121.com for the latest credit cards available in the UK. He also writes for the US comparison site Credit Cards Info http://www.credit-cards-info.com.