Booking Plane Tickets
13. Consider an alternate airport. Often cities are near multiple airports, and fares can vary dramatically from one to the next based on location and air carrier service. Washington, D.C., for example, is within driving distance of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. But fares are often lower at Baltimore Washington, because it's farther away. Just make sure you have transportation from the alternate airports—travelers often buy cheap tickets into London's Gatwick or Stansted airports only to find they have to pay steep carfares to get to London proper. Heathrow airport, on the other hand, has quick and easy access to London's tube system. If making flight connections in Europe, bypass major airport hubs such as Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Heathrow in London. Switch planes in less trafficked Dublin instead.
14. Slip an easily compressed duffle bag into your suitcase. If you learn your luggage is too heavy when you check-in, you can quickly repack—and avoid hefty fines for overweight luggage. Also consider packing an empty bag for bringing home souvenirs; it's one thing to spend money on trinkets to bring home, it's another to buy a new duffel or suitcase to carry them in.
15. Fly on a small, low-cost air carrier such as JetBlue or Southwest. Many of these airlines now offer perks comparable to the bigger airlines (TVs in every seat, free snacks), and who can argue with rockbottom prices? For a directory of U.S. carriers, try ReidsGuides.com. For European carriers, check out Air-ticket-cheap.com; if going to Asia, log on to Attitude Travel.
16. Shop around for the lowest fare. Log on to sites such
as Expedia,
Orbitz,
and Travelocity
to compare fares between major airlines. Once you find the lowest fare, check
the airline's own website before you book it; some offer special discounts only
available on their site. And don't forget to log on to the websites of low-cost
carriers. Many of them, including Southwest and
17. Turn to consolidators or wholesalers, sometimes called "bucket shops," for savings. These companies buy blocks of tickets from major airlines then sell them to consumers at a deep discount, especially during the off-season. For a list of brokers, visit Airbrokers International.
18. Subscribe to an e-mail alert to track dips in airfares as they occur. Travelocity's free FareWatcher, for example, allows you to monitor up to five routes by sending you an alert every time there's a change in price. Hotwire will e-mail you when fares drop on routes that you've traveled before.
19. Share miles. Some airlines let their frequent fliers transfer their miles to other members seeking award-level status. With Delta, for instance, any member can transfer up to 30,000 miles for $0.01 per mile and a $30 processing fee. If you're some miles short of a free ticket and know someone with miles that would go unused, pay your friend for the fee and it's still a bargain. Note: Policies vary by airline.
