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Airline Tips & Secrets!From the best bargain travel sites to the just plain bizarre - you'll find 'em here.
Online
Booking Sites
Hotwire
If you are
looking for the lowest prices then definitely consider hotwire. The catch is that they don’t reveal the airline or flight
times until you actually book your ticket. Still, the advantages can be
very rewarding. You have the option of entering the number of
connections you would like as well as if you want to include a
“redeye” flight, which will get you there the next day.
Unlike some
true auction sites, Hotwire actually tells you the price before you
decide to book. They also
say that they will get you on the lowest priced flight that leaves from
6am to 10pm on a particular day. Recently, I decided to check on a
flight from the Midwest to Los Angeles Airport.
I started with the airlines and the lowest quoted fare was $376.
Next I checked some of the on-line booking sites and found fares
started at $389 on up. Finally, I checked Hotwire and they quoted an
amazing fare of $206 for a savings of at least $170.
Best of all, the prices they quote include all taxes and airport
fees.
Sidestep
Sidestep
allows you to search a variety of airline fees in a single step. You just input the locations and dates of travel, press a
button and it starts searching for fares starting with the lowest. They
also have a feature that will allow you to load this on your desktop so
that searching for air bargains is just a click away.
ITA Software
ITA boasts
of a new technology that allows you to rapidly search every available
fare combination. Computer engineers from M.I.T in their “artificial
intelligence laboratory” developed the software.
Sound intriguing? This
will give you a good comprehensive look at current flights all across
the board.
Travelscape
I have
used travelscape many times. They not only book airline seats but also
travel packages as well. They
have an easy homepage that allows you to search for air and hotel
reservations, hotel only or air only.
On one occasion I wanted to book a trip to Las Vegas and by using
their air and hotel feature I was able to see the prices for my days of
travel for every hotel in Las Vegas plus a special “package” airfare
rate.
Expedia
This
is another good site that books air and other packages. Many companies
like expedia list special deals right on their homepage. You may see
something that strikes your fancy even better than your original idea.
Orbitz
This
site claims to have the most airline “web-only” fares in the
business. Like the other
sites, you can book air only or search for other travel packages, rental
cars and hotels. Their site
searches over 450 airline prices.
Biztravel
Biztravel
has an easy to use website that allows you to effortlessly search for
airfares. Unlike some of the other internet companies, biztravel has
added some interesting and consumer friendly features. Their
“Biztravel Guarantee” pays you for the typical flight irregularities
and delays that many experience. If they are notified of these problems within 24 hours then
they will refund you the following:
They also
have a hotel guarantee program that is worth checking out.
Smarter
Living
Smarter
living has a “step-by-step” airfare guide that allows you to search
for things like Internet specials, current sales, on-line travel agents,
travel auctions, consolidators and more.
This site, along with many others will even send you periodic
emails of Internet specials if you so choose.
Mileage/Awards
Programs
Webmiles
If you have
ever tried using frequent flyer awards, you know that most of them are
subject to blackout dates and have limited seating availability. With
webmiles, this is no longer a problem.
By simply registering you can start earning your way towards
free, unrestricted travel on any airline. You earn miles by purchasing
goods and services from their partners such as Avis rent-a-car, local
grocery stores, 7,500 restaurants and more. What’s even better is that
flight discounts start at just 8,000 miles and a free round-trip ticket
at 25,000 miles. Here is
how their discount flight structure works:
Milesspree
Milesspree
is similar to webmiles in that you earn miles by purchasing from a
variety of partners. Their categories include things like automotive,
flowers, toys, pets, home, garden and travel.
Reaching 25,000 miles earns you a free round trip between any two
points in the United States. The
twist that I like about milesspree is that you can earn as many as 8,000
miles for just taking a
few simple steps. This includes registering (2,000 miles), completing
your personal profile (another 1,000 points) and referring your friends
for another 5,000 miles. There are other benefits and special offers as
well so check out their site.
Auctions
Priceline
Many people
have heard about priceline through their marketing efforts. To use their
service you tell them where you want to go and how much you are willing
to pay. After they agree to
your price then the airline and flight times are disclosed.
This works best if you are flexible and possibly willing to make
several connections to get to your destination.
Priceline says that they can save 40% over the lowest published
fares. But do your homework first so that you know how to place a
competitive bid.
Sky Auction
Like
priceline, sky auction lets you bid for flights. They have made it easy
to use by categorizing the different areas in which you may bid. This
includes Europe, USA and Canada, Latin America and Mexico, Asia and
Australia, Africa, sun packages and hot deals. As I perused their site I saw a
business class airfare summer roundtrip auction from New York to Paris
with a current bid of $101.
Space
Available Sites
Air Tech
Ever wanted
to go to Hawaii but thought the airfare was too expensive? A current special on Airtech was advertising a flight to hula
land for only $119 + tax. Other advertised specials at the time were
‘USA to Europe for $169’ and ‘USA to Mexico and the Caribbean from
$225 round trip.’ Airtech specializes in “space available”
flights. Many airlines have unsold seats that they would like to fill.
When they can’t, they sell seats to companies like Airtech. Currently,
they service Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and other points in
the US. If you are flexible on your dates of travel and possibly even
your first choice in destination, then Airtech may be for you.
When you use
Air Tech’s “flight pass”, you provide the company with a departure
window time that is usually 2-4 days. They guarantee to fly you during
this time or provide a refund. They claim they are successful 94% of the
time.
Airhitch
This is
another website that sells airfares on a seat available basis. By using
the internet you can save a bundle flying across the Atlantic or to/from
Hawaii. You can also
“Chat Live” with a staff member using AOL’s Instant Messenger.
Air Courier
Air Courier
Association
Flying as an
air courier is another way to save big money on airline tickets. The air courier association says that they can save members
up to 85% off regular airfares, and even sometimes for free. Air
couriers basically travel by carrying a parcel for a company as their
carry-on baggage. A discounted fare is offered as an incentive for
people to hand deliver the package to its destination.
Sound too good to be true? I
contacted this company and they said that so far this year they have
offered nine “free” airfares. They explained that if they can’t
find someone willing to fly a particular segment they may offer that
route for free. For
example, they recently featured a New York to Puerto Rico flight for
free PLUS $100. Members are
offered a host of benefits, including cheap flights both domestically
and internationally, last minute specials, hotel discounts, MEDEX ID
Card—which acts as an international medical assistance plan, online
newsletter and more.
International
Association of Air Travel Couriers
This is
another courier website that offers worldwide courier discounts. Their
homepage has some interesting stories of people who fly as air couriers.
Their current page, for example, listed three couriers talking about
their $200 flights to Singapore. Another
story highlighted an 80-year-old man who has flown courier to Hong Kong,
Brazil, Equator, Japan and Bolivia.
They also offer a free courier handbook.
Consolidators
Fly Cheap
This company
does a high volume business and you can find their ads, along with many
others in the Sunday travel supplement of most large newspapers. They
claim to provide savings of $30 to $150 of on advanced-purchase tickets.
Cheap
Tickets
Another site
selling discounted, mostly domestic tickets. Discounts of 15-25 percent
are often provided.
Here are
some other consolidator sites that specialize in regional travel:
Transatlantic
Fares
Latin
America
Worldwide
Miscellaneous
Europe by
Air
Traveling
within Europe doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition.
Europe by Air connects with 22 airline routes with a network of
150 cities that you can fly to for $99 one way to each destination (plus
airport tax). They have
other good benefits as well such as “open” ticketing, no charge for
itinerary changes, no blackout dates and no fare zones.
Some of the key destinations include Barcelona, Belfast, Cologne,
Dusseldorft, Frankfurt, Geneva, Nice, Oslo, and Moscow to name a few.
They also advertise an unlimited flight pass for 15 days ($699)
or 21 day ($899).
Jet Blue
This new
airlines claims to offer fares that are 65% lower than their
competition. They have a rapidly expanding network, which includes
points on the east and west coast. One of the things I like best about
Jet Blue is that all seats are leather with their own TV! You can even
take a virtual tour of their planes at their website.
Flight
Trackers
The Trip
By clicking
on their “flight tracker” link you can see real time tracking
information on almost any flight. This is truly remarkable. You can
actually see the airspeed, altitude and other indicators in graphic
display along with the aircraft’s current position on the map. If you
watch carefully, you can even see the airplane moving as it heads
towards its final destination.
Flight View
Similar to
“The Trip,” you can access current flight status for almost any
airline. In addition to viewing flight status, you can also see radar
imagery of conditions along the route.
Both “The Trip” and “Flightview” will not show data on
flights that are on the ground.
Air Traffic
Control System Command Center
This site
will give you a visual graphic display of major airports in the United
States. A color-coding system will instantly tell you the status of any
delays at a particular airport. This
will range from delays of less than 15 minutes all the way to a closed
airport. You can click on any listed airport to find out local details
of that airport.
Am I Going
Down?
When I first
heard about this website I thought this was a bit strange, but after
taking a look, I have come to like this esoteric information.
Basically, by entering your specific flight information this site
will calculate your chances of having an incident (i.e.: crash) based on
historical data for that particular airline and route.
It will give you a percentage of likelihood that you may be
bucking the odds. Go ahead,
take a look. I dare ya.
Frequent
Flyer Programs
www.flyaow.com/frequentflyer.shtml
Nearly
100 links to airline frequent flyer programs. It pays to compare.
Airline Toll
Free Numbers and Websites
www.princeton.edu/sites/citdocs/misc/air800.html Listed here you will find links to just about every imaginable airline including their toll free numbers and websites. If you ever need to fly on Sunflower Airlines (Fiji) or Western Airlines (Australia) you can find their numbers here.
The entire guide , along with additional must have information is available in Ron's e-book, "Surfing for Savings: Your Complete Online Guide to Saving Big Money on Travel" at www.hadami.com |
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