Isn’t it ironic that some folks just seem to get better airfare deals than others? And by better by mean WAY better.

Frankly, I never even imagined that two people sitting together in the same flight, to the same destination could have paid vastly different fares until I met up with a student on one particular flight that is.

While I thought I made out okay paying five hundred dollars for my return fare, this student, who had admittedly booked months before me, was getting his return fare for almost half of the price I had paid. While my initial reaction was that I had been cheated, I later resolved to find out all about air cheap ticket travel.

Since it was a student who had put me on to cheap air travel in the first place, my first point of call was a web search airfare catering to students. A number of links immediately popped up and the first one to catch my eye was Student flights – the trusted network for cheap air travel. As I browsed through the website, I realized that all along, I had been paying an exorbitant fare. But then, cheap air travel came with certain conditions. For one thing, they needed to be booked at least three months in advance. Since most of my travel was confirmed well in advance, I didn’t see any reason why I could not book several months or more in advance in order to get deals! Next, I realized that most travel agents get a hefty commission from the airlines in order to ensure sufficient bookings. And some of them were known to pass these commissions on as savings to their customers. This made cheap air travel possible for all.

Most of my travel arrangements were made directly with the airlines so I must have missed out on these other saving options. I resolved then and there that I would find a reliable travel agent and book solely through him, only if he offered to pass on the commissions to me. Surprisingly, I found more than one travel agent willing to do so. I could not believe that I had been losing out on cheap air travel options solely because I was booking directly with the airlines!

The next thing I realized was that there were a number of Internet booking options available that ensured that I got cheap air travel options. Websites like Price line, cheap flights, e-bates and even cheap tickets offered a range of cheap air travel options. How they made their money or how they were able to offer such cheap options became clear once I realized that all airlines offer commissions in order to book to full capacity.

Search for a Discount Airfare

And on occasion the airlines themselves offer specials. Especially around holiday time. A trip that cost me upwards of a thousand dollars could be converted to a cheap air travel option if only I kept a look out for the seasonal and promotional prices offered by the airlines. Often, these seasonal rebates were even better than the cheap air travel options offered by the largest and the best travel agents.