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How to Find Really Cheap
Flights
By: Neal Brown
Airline competition has always been intense, but
there are
more and more resources available today
that allow travelers to quickly compare fares without
relying on travel agents. Here are a few of the
strategies savvy travelers use.
First, start with the major airfare search engines to get
a base idea of the lowest rates for your trip.
www.qixo.com , www.orbitz.com, and
quickfares.bestfares.com will do the job. Next, you'll need to cover
the individual airlines that aren't covered by these
engines. Southwest is one of these, so check
www.southwest.com .
Your next step should be to check the airlines website for
the lowest fare that you've found from the search
engines. Before you do, make sure the fare that you've
gotten includes all taxes and other fees. Often you
can save a little by going direct to the airlines website.
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Your ability to find the
cheapest fares will depend greatly on your
degree of flexibility in departure and return dates, and
amount of
time ahead of the trip that you start looking. With the
number of
routes being reduced by the airlines in order to fly at
high as
capacity as possible, it's even more important to plan in
advance these days.
If you do have some
flexibility, Orbitz will allow you to select a
flexible date option which will enable you to scan for the
best
prices up to 3 days before or after a specified date.
If you have maximum flexibility then simply wait for a
good deal.
Orbitz, Southwest, and others will notify you when sales
run on
destinations you are interested in. Check a few of the
websites
for the airlines that you've found deals on up to this
point to see if
they offer any type of notification service on sales.
www.bestfares.com is a good resource to check for sales
also.
The next strategy is to see if any special deals are
available for
a group that you can be associated with. Seniors,
students,
single women, etc. often have websites that offer
discounted
fares.
One last approach that's worth a try is to bid on
priceline.com.
Use the lowest fare that your search has found, then place
your
bid 30% below it. There are more hints and resources at
www.really-cheap-flight.info
Article Source: http://www.neoarticles.com
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