Finding the Best Airfare Deals

One of the top questions we get at the WHET Travel is 'How can I find great prices on airfare?'

The following is very valuable, no-nonsense information that WHET Travel has compiled together for you in an easy to understand format from several major travel publications... such as Frommer's, Lonely Planet, Conde' Nast, Travel and Leisure, USA Today, NY Times, as well as travel agents across the country and WHET Travel's personal experience.

1) Miles...Do you have enough for a free flight? What about a family member or friend? They can transfer them to you if they want...not a bad birthday present!

2) If you have friends or family that work for an airline that flies to where you want to go, ask them if you can use a buddy pass. However, understand the restrictions of flying standby and that you could get bumped off the flight you want or worst case scenario, get stuck at the airport

3) Sign up for e-mail notices of airlines that fly from your area. Almost every airline website has a quick subscription form (look for links like "E-Savers" or "Specials") to receive notices for fare sales. Or, you can subscribe to free sites like http://www.Frommers.com and http://www.smarterliving.com which have a staff of travel experts that research fares from your home airport and report them to you -saving you valuable time.

4) Consider a consolidator. Consolidators buy seats in bulk from the airlines and then sell them back to the public at prices usually below even the airlines' discounted rates. Look for ads in your Sunday paper's travel section.

5) According to Arthur -Frommer, the key to finding airfare deals is to be flexible and know which low-fare carriers serve your destination. They tend to operate in densely populated markets, so you won't find discounters targeting cities like Santa Barbara or Syracuse. But with most good-size cities, it's worth starting with one of the big booking sites -- Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity -- if only to establish a baseline price. Be aware that they will add up to $10 in fees above the quoted price and the ticket is non-changeable and non-refundable (we learned this the hard way at WHET TC).

These online travel agents make it easy to see fares from multiple airlines and search for the lowest prices. The problem is that none of them gets you all of the carriers' fares; in fact, two of the biggest low-fare carriers, Southwest and JetBlue, don't release their fares to any independent sites.

6) The answer is to search for discounts at one of the fare-compare websites that function like travel search engines. Number one is http://www.SideStep.com, where you can download free software (or now you can just go to their website and search) that will scour airline sites (including JetBlue and Southwest) and consolidators, and bring the prices together in one place.

7) Once you find the fare you like and the most convenient times, your next step is to visit the most competitive carriers' own sites to compare prices. Many airlines offer special rates on their own sites and often reward you with bonus frequent-flier miles for booking with them rather than a third party.

If you have other hints or ideas on how to find the lowest airfare... let us know by going to the contact us page.

Happy Flyin...see ya on the beaches!!

Jason Beukema

President

WHET Travel Inc.