Airline travel is expensive; there is no way around that very simple fact to any traveler. Between the costs of airport fees, taxes and other hidden costs associated with plane tickets, buying a ticket can seem a daunting task. Buying an airline ticket at a discounted rate may seem utterly impossible for the average person. It is not so difficult to find great savings for airline travel, however.
- Contact Airlines Directly. Many airlines will offer last
minute discounts on their flights simply to fill up seats.
These are not likely to be found on the more popular routes
during peak travel times, but the discounts can be found with
some selective searching and shopping by travelers.
Searching web sites for the different airlines is one common means of finding some of these deals. Calling the airlines' main offices or customer service centers will also frequently put the traveler in touch with the right people to speak to about discounted airline travel. Try searching directly for airlines like Delta Airlines, United Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines, to name a few. Most of them will offer great perks, like extra bonus miles, for booking directly with them.
- Travel Agencies. A travel agency is one place that not
many travelers look to for discount tickets. However, you can
always look into this option as well - you never know! As a
rule, travel agents purchase tickets or seating in bulk and
resell those seats to interested travelers. Once again, it is
not likely that the traveling consumer will be able to find
greatly reduced airline tickets to popular travel destinations
during peak travel times, but it never hurts to try.
- Online Travel Portals. Many online resources are
available to anybody with a credit card. These online travel
services offer a wide range of ticket pricing and availability.
Some of these online services offer competitive pricing for
those travelers who plan ahead and always schedule their
flights and other booking information well in advance of the
actual date of travel. Try
Expedia.com,
Orbitz.com,
CheapTickets
and
Travelocity.com. These are my favorite and you will be able at least to
compare and decide which one is the best for you.
- "Last-Minute Travel" Portals. Other online resources
offer deeply discounted prices to those people seeking last
minute seating on some of the major airlines in the industry.
Additional services are also available through many of these
online travel services, frequently offering further financial
savings for the business and casual traveler. Try
Site
59 and
LastMinuteTravel.com.
- Online Auction and "Name Your Price" Sites. While it may be
a rare occurrence in the world of travel and airline tickets,
online auctions offer the occasional discounted bargain for the
thrifty shopper. Since it may be difficult to match exact
travel dates and other specific needs of the traveler, the
prices are often a minimal accounting of what their original
value was. Many people will find themselves unable to travel
when they have planned.
Since the majority of people do not pay the additional fees, many of these tickets are non-refundable. If the person who originally purchased the tickets cannot find a buyer, they will lose the total price of the tickets. Even if they can sell the airline tickets for a fraction of their actual value, they are better off than they would be by simply throwing them away and losing their money. Try Priceline.com where you can "name your price."
Airline travel and tickets are expensive. For the thrifty shopper who is willing to take a little bit of time, there are some great travel bargains available. Where, when and how consumers shop to meet their airline travel needs will have a major impact on their financial savings.
Find more ways to save when you shop with Family.com's Shopping Tips and Tricks special feature.
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