To find cheap airfare, you need
to do a little research. Start
with the well-known sites, like
Expedia, Travelocity, Cheap
Tickets, Hotwire or Priceline.
The travel agencies just can't
compete with the discount sites
any longer. You can also find
cheap airfare by using the
search engines. Type in
something like "cheap plane
tickets" and the destination.
I just checked fares from
Tucson, Arizona to Traverse
City, Michigan on the five sites
mentioned above. Tickets ranged
from $704 to $432 for the
cheapest at each site (and up to
$500 more for the most
expensive). It isn't important
which was cheapest (oh, okay, it
was Expedia). It isn't important
because you never know from day
to day which sites will find the
cheapest flights. It changes all
the time
When you search, always check
at least three places. It would
mean a savings of $272 in the
above example. Flight durations
were within minutes of each
other, by the way, and the food
is probably equally bad on all
the flights.
Find Cheap Airfare With
Flexibility
Sometimes it's cheaper to buy
two tickets. The lowest rate
from Grand Rapids, Michigan to
Tucson, Arizona is $451
roundtrip as I write this. Las
Vegas to Tucson is $161,
however, and there are $199
specials to Vegas from Grand
Rapids. Is saving $91 worth
booking two flights? Your call
(It saved us over $1000 when we
went to South America). Careful
on the timing, though. You
probably won't get a refund if
you miss the connection.
More flexibility is the way
to find cheap airfare. Check
different departure and return
dates. Click on "2 or more
connecting flights," and mark
"anytime" for departure. Even if
you don't want to leave at
midnight, the savings might
change your mind, so try all the
options. When the savings aren't
enough, you can always book
first class, direct flights, or
whatever you prefer.
Purchasing ahead of time gets
you cheaper airfare. Less than a
week away tends to be expensive,
although you never can tell in
the mysterious realm of airfare
pricing. At times the "last
minute specials" are the best
thing going.
Place a bid to find cheap
airfare. Priceline still has a
"Name Your Own Price" feature.
You make your bid, and the
airlines say yes or no,
according to whether they have
empty seats to fill. The way to
use this is to first search for
the cheapest tickets you can
find online, then go and bid
lower than that. If the bid is
rejected, return to the website
where you found the best deal
and book it.
Package deals, where you pay
for plane tickets and your hotel
room, can sometimes save you
money. Personally, I haven't had
much luck with these, but it
can't hurt to look at them.
Really Cheap Airfare
I once took a bus from
Michigan to Miami, and flew from
there to Ecuador. At the time
saving hundreds of dollars was
worth 38 hours on a bus. Usually
this won't save you much on
domestic flights. For example,
at the moment, taking a bus from
Traverse City to Detroit, then
flying to Los Angeles, would
only save about $70 (allowing
for cab fare to the airport)
compared with flying directly.
Other options are beyond the
scope of this article. For
example, courier flights can be
a great deal if you don't mind
letting a company use your
baggage allowance (you get
carry-on only). Then there are
the stand-by deals, last minute
deals and other ways to find
cheap airfare.
