Cheap Airfare Blog

Steven Liew asked:


It is a problem that most air travellers face - how and where to buy those cheap airfares online and what are the benefits in savings and drawbacks compared to buying the cheap airfares from the travel agent down the road.

If you travel by air, you would already know that airfares cost typically forms the dominant chunk of your travel bill be it leisure or holiday. And the savings can add up a lot i.e. if you know where to really get those cheap airfares.

But in the current world where there are a proliferation of travel agencies, sites and even airlines themselves advertising all sort of cheap airfares, if you buy those airfares online yourself and cut out the middlemen, the travel agents, then things could get confusing fast.

Without some guidance and understanding of how one of the world’s largest industry works (air travel), travellers are likely to find themselves short-changed for the more expensive airfares tickets or buying something they may not need that had already been built into the airfare prices.

Of course, every traveller would love it if they could just get those cheapest airfares or at least bragged to their relatives or friends how they managed to get those cheap airfares at 30%-50% cheaper than the next guy sitting on the plane. Is this possible actually?

Yes, you can do all these online yourselves but here are 7 important tips you have to know before buying those airfares online or searching for the best cheap airfare deal:

1) Know your priority first.
If cheap airfare price is everything and you can settle for some minor restrictions, then you are always better to go for the cheap consolidators’ airfares rather than that of the airlines’ own published airfares themselves.

On domestic US routes, some of the big online air travel consolidators you could check out are Onetravel.com, Hotwire.com, Priceline.com, etc.

On the other hand, if airfare price is not your top consideration (for example, you have this worry about foreign airlines reliability or security), you should then monitor your favourite airline’s own cheap airfare sales, which they have periodically every two to three months.

Or try to look for a complete package tour (which is likely cheaper in airfare ticket prices than just buying the airfare ticket alone) from the big published Internet travel agencies like Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, etc.

2) Do not waste time checking sites which have the same sources of cheap airfares.
For example, these sites may rely on the same computerised reservation system (CSR) that gives you options from the same set of published air fares.

There are less than 8 major CSR systems in the industry (you can check the sites on which CSRs are they using or ask their customer help desk) and it is better if you get your options from most or all of them to get the cheapest airfares.

Note that some sites may just be a portal or gateways to other main sites so it will be a waste of time to check your options on these sites together for your cheap airfare search.

3) Get the full itineraries available
Remember that airfare pricing are determined by a variety of factors such as dates, seating, routes (direct flights, stopovers or connecting flights for example), and their rules for cancellations, refunds or changes to the tickets.

You may find that the cheapest airfare tickets tend to have a lot of restrictions that may not be suitable to you.

For example, if you are on a rushed vacation where there are too many stopovers or connecting flights, these are likely to eat into your vacation time. Always check the fine prints before paying for any cheap airfares as there are tradeoffs to be made.

4) Always book and pay quickly on a good deal
Do not waste your time searching endlessly for the best cheap airfares deal. They don’t likely exist as airfare pricing are determined by many things as noted from above and the cheapest airfare tickets may not be suitable after all for your requirements.

If you do see a good cheap airfare deal, book and pay for it quickly.

Airlines typically may offer a few crash-down cheap airfare deals to pull in demands on limited seat availability and what you see in the advertisements may not be available to you in a few days or even the next hour unless you book and pay for those cheap seats quickly.

Keeping an eye open and putting yourself on the e-mail list of notifications by the airlines or travel agencies are a good way of spotting these cheap airfare deals.

5) There is no magical place or site to look, just the best comparison
Despite what some may claim, there are no one airline or travel site that will offer you the best available cheap airfare deal as it all depends on your requirements and travel preferences.

There are actually thousands of permutations of flights routes, prices, type of flights, seatings, timing, etc for any possible trip especially for those long-distance, lengthy, round-the-world (RTW)trips.

Hence, it is always wise to do comparison between airlines or travel agencies at all time for their cheap airfare claims or offers. Of course, just do not be a cheap airfare fanatic until you miss the forest for the trees.

6) Never assume anything on cheap airfares
The best advice is never to assume anything on the airfares that you have to pay as what is cheap could be obscured by hidden charges.

Make sure that the net cheap airfare price you have to pay have factored in other charges like airport taxes, surcharges, agencies charges, etc. before you pay or make a like-for-like comparison with other sites.

Also never assume that online airfare prices will be cheaper. Always check offline for example with the consolidators’ cheap airfares.

Also never assume that those cheapest airfares flight search function on any travel websites will actually get you the ever lowest discount fares.

They won’t as search robots are actually not exactly built that way and are quite rigid. For example, they may not disclose another cheaper airfare alternative say if you vary your destination or stopover a little bit, which brings us to a last point.

7) You need to invest some patience and efforts
Ultimately, to find those bargain cheap airfares, you still need to invest the time and effort to find them.

There are always different sites, tactics and sources to find the best possible cheap airfares (note not necessarily the cheapest) for any trips.

If you are unable to do so yourself, you could still find a trustworthy and reliable travel agent to search out those cheap airfare options for you for a small fee.

Just be sure that you ask all the relevant questions in this case as some agents may not likely be as helpful as you want them to be, to search for the lowest airfares or best itineraries for you.

In the end still, nothing beats a little time and effort to plan your trip yourself and get the best out of it at the least cost.

Cheap Cruises

George Wood asked:


IATA (International Air Transport Association) conducts all international flights and almost all international airlines (94%) operate under this association. The pricing structure and all other decisions associated with an international flight are made by the IATA. They do not normally give permission to international airlines to lower their rates if other airlines are offering regular airfares. However, they do sometimes allow consolidators to buy airline tickets in bulk at low price and sell them off to travelers.
If you are searching for cheap airfares online, you will come across many websites offering national as well as international packages. These sites are composed of Mega Online agencies and B&M Travel agencies. Other sites are composed of travel consolidators who specialize in providing the best possible deals to their customers. You will find out that these sites have different international policies because of the fact that international airfares are mainly handled by the IATA.
Airline Consolidator is a place where you will be able to find cheap international and domestic flights to many locations across the globe. Whether you are flying to Asia, Europe, Indian sub-continent or Africa, you will be able to locate an inexpensive flight and save up to 70% of your airfare. If you buy tickets directly from airlines, they will also tell you that this is the lowest possible rate any airline can offer. However, searching on these online resources you will find still cheaper airfares. Fareline International is another popular name under this category. They specialize in selling international airfares to Europe and Asia.
While purchasing online it is recommended that you ask for the total cost of a ticket. Sometimes they list only the airfare exclusive of hidden charges. Some companies do not have additional charges if someone is paying by credit card. You will have to be careful in selecting your package depending on all these factors and other considerations. All requests made through e-mail are answered within 24 hours. Remember that the tickets sold by consolidators are sometimes restricted. This means that if you want to change your travel plans you will be given a penalty because they have to book flights in order to give all passengers the quoted price. Regular airfares allow you to travel more flexibly because they allow you to change your travel plans anytime. Of course, in the latter case you have to pay more.
If you cant find an international flight on any of these websites, you can call a travel expert and ask for advice. Sometimes airline names are not mentioned on consolidator websites. They will e-mail you all the details once you have purchased their package. This does not mean that their system is faulty; they have contracts with airlines which state that they cannot mention the airline names publicly. Mostly these airlines are the most popular international airlines of a country. Booking online sometimes help to save up to 40% of already cheap airfare. Sometimes you are not given a physical ticket; instead you will be receiving an e-ticket or a confirmation number and some other details that you will be able to use at the airport to get into the plane.
When you are buying international tickets from consolidators, it is your own responsibility to ensure that all your travel documents (passports and visas) are complete and legal. Read all instructions and company policies before buying your tickets or packages. They will not be responsible for any mishaps or loss of tickets once you have received your tickets. You will have to buy another package in such a case. Being careful in all these matters will help you travel wisely and without any major difficulty, and most of all travel affordably.

Airline Tickets

Harry Shengh Lee asked:


The world is vast and there are myriad things to do, infinite places to visit, innumerous people to meet and countless experiences to gain. It’s just one life why not make the best of it. But things are easily said than done. It’s not all that easy, isn’t it? There are too many hindrances that don’t permit you take a break from your unvarying to-do-list and compel you drop the idea mid-way. The biggest onus being the unavailability of cheap air fares in USA to your preferred destination. Cheap airfares to your favorite destination are just too hard to retrieve.

With so many options available for finding cheap airfares in USA through online travel websites, the job on one hand has become easier but on the other hand it has become all the more confusing. Who to trust and do a deal with would be an obvious question for any traveler, especially the ones who are traveling for the first time. But don’t worry, a bit of navigation on the website, advice from friends, and little research work would help you crack the best deal.

Log on to the internet today and book your cheap airfares right from the comfort of your computer. Yes, that’s true, from the comfort of your computer and that too just by a few mouse clicks. It’s just a matter of few clicks that you hunt your cheap airfares in USA and end up reducing a significant amount of money on your itinerary. This not only helps you save money during your trip but also allows you to shop relentlessly without being too heavy on your pocket.

There are many firms that have years of experience in the travel domain. If you are expecting a lot of time and money to be saved after contacting them, you are not asking for much. Book your cheap airfares in USA at an unbelievably low price and get the best deals that would not only be cost-effective this time but on all your future endeavors.

This time when you are planning your itinerary let your travel agent take a break. Instead log on to the internet and let the travel firms take care of all your traveling woes. What you need to do is just select the nearest airport to your vicinity and the destination city that you intend to explore. Choose from the list of cheap flights that you are offered and that best suits your travel plan.

A perfect vacation for anyone would comprise of these: Being with your loved ones, visiting exciting places that you have dreamt of, shopping your heart out and relishing the best of cuisines. After all this if you manage to save some money it would just be icing on the cake.

This summer when your children insist for an outing to any of the cities in US or even overseas, don’t just say no thinking the budget would be a major constraint. A little planning and research is what’s needed to experience one of the most enjoyable as well as economical vacations of all times.

Cheap Airfare