Your Airline Reservations
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It seems as though every time you hop online to book a
flight, the prices have jumped significantly. However, with gas prices soaring,
oftentimes flying is cheaper than driving. Here are a few things to check out
when booking flights to get the most for your money.
To get a better
rate, make your airline reservations as soon as you have concrete travel plans.
Airlines will often give discounts for early bookings at least 21 days in
advance. The best rates are often those that include a Saturday night stay and
have travel days during the week. As a general rule, the best deals are
available for flights leaving Monday to Thursday and on domestic flights many
bargains can be found on a Saturday. Travelers will almost invariably pay more
for a Friday or Sunday flight. If it is possible to stay a Saturday night, this
will also normally result in a lower fare.Try shopping to find quickly and
easily the rates of several different airlines. If you have traveling
flexibility, look for several different days or times of departure. Often early
morning or late night flights will have lower rates.
Airlines often place a large premium on non-stop
flights and if this is not vital for you, you are likely to be able to save
many dollars by booking a flight that involves a connection.
Check into
splitting your trip into two roundtrip sections. A stopover at a midpoint could
save you over flying a direct route. However, make sure the savings is
significant enough to warrant the extra hassle.
It may be possible to
fly into a nearby airport and drive the last hour or so; this may offer you a
better price overall.
Try booking your travel in a package including
airline reservations, car rentals, and hotels, which will often merit more
savings. Check out the
custom
trips for these deals.
There are several discount programs
available to frequent travelers. Apply for memberships in premium or loyalty
clubs and frequent flyer programs. Some credit cards also have special discount
agreements with certain airlines. Oftentimes a credit card will partner with an
airline to offer rewards in the form of flight tickets. When you make your
first purchase you receive for example, 10,000 miles, then as you use your
credit card, you accumulate more miles, and over time, free or discounted
airline reservations. Additionally, discounts may be available for government,
military or corporate employees. Some airlines will extend these discounts to
leisure travel.
If you book an airline ticket and then find that the
price has gone down, contact the airline and ask for a refund. Many of the
large airlines offer to pay back the difference if the prices go down. Read the
small print and ask for the refund if it applies. Even if your chosen airline
does not offer this sort of refund policy it is still worth asking as with
increased competition airlines are very keen to keep customers happy.
Choosing An Airline For Smooth Flying
by
Joanne Ronnin
In the planning stage, it seems that going on a deserved
vacation can cause nothing but stress; you know where you want travel, you
decide how to get there, but you are not sure what airline you should fly with.
Airline companies are plentiful and like most competitive businesses their
services vary - your decision could be a difficult one if you do not know what
you want.
Picking an airline to fly with could be one of the most
important decisions you can make. Flying is no more risky than any other form
of transportation, however knowing that you are going to be thousands of feet
above the ground with no safety net can make for some pretty nervous times.
Many things should be considered when searching for the best airline to take
you on your trip. Some of these factors include:
Safety Ratings: all
airline companies have a safety rating, undergoing necessary audits of their
aircraft and safety policies. It goes without saying that it pays to steer
clear of any airline with a less than stellar air safety history.
Cost:
with all the other expenses of a vacation to evaluate, being able to source the
most cost effective solution to reaching your destination and coming home
safely makes researching airline companies and their subsequent airfares an
all-important task.
Comfort: Depending on the length of your travel, it
may be important or not so important to determine the level of comfort offered
by each airline company. Being able to stretch out your legs, for example,
could be the deciding factor for a long distance plane trip.
Services:
Once again, depending on the length of your trip, services provided by an
airline will vary widely. For a long distance trip it may be important to you
that food be served regularly on board the airline carrier and that the price
be all-inclusive.
Baggage: Of course when you go on vacation it is nice
to be able to take full advantage of baggage allowances, bringing home gifts
for loved ones. As with most things, allowances vary with each airline and it
could save you lots of money to check the fine print.
Once your decision
has been made there is very little room for change of mind - so choose
prudently the best airline available to you and enjoy your trip!
The
author has traveled extensively for business as well as well as pleasure. She
has over 30 years of flying under her belt and has helped hundreds of people to
have an enjoyable travel experience. Joanne Ronnin is founder of All About
Airlines an excellent resource site dedicated to information on
airlines
Article Source:
Travel and Leisure
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