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How to Find Cheap Airfare Today, travelers can find cheap
airline flights at the click of a button thanks to the internet.
But finding the absolute best fare requires a lot more than just a
few clicks. We polled fifty travel agents with proven sales records
to compile their best tips and tricks. You might just be surprised
at how much money you can save by following their advice!
- Buy at the last minute: most people assume that you need to
buy airfare tickets far ahead of time in order to save money.
But did you know that most travel agents, when purchasing fares
for their own trips, tend to wait until the last minute? That's
because about two to three weeks ahead of time, most airlines
try to get rid of their unsold seats by dropping their prices.
- Buy consolidator fares: speaking of waiting until the last
minute, you can often find cheap airline flights if you wait
even longer! After airlines drop their prices at the two to
three week mark, they will often unload their flights to a
consolidator – an agency that specializes in selling unwanted
flights. If you buy your tickets through the consolidator, you
can save up to 75 percent!
- Check fare comparer sits for last minute deals: another way
of getting last minute deals is to see what fares the fare
comparer sites such as Orbitz and Travelocity have for sale.
They often purchase unwanted seats directly from the airlines
about one to two weeks in advance, and list these inexpensive
fares on a "last minute travel specials" page.
- Fly Standby: many travel agents, when going on their own
trips, purchase a cut-rate fare from a fare comparer or
consolidator, even if the time or date conflicts with their
schedule. They then show up at the airport at the date and time
they wish to fly and ask to be placed on standby. This strategy
to find cheap airline flights usually works best when the
airline offers many flights for this itinerary per day, so that
even if one flight is full, you can catch the next one. You may
have to wait a bit to be placed on a flight, but it is worth it
if you save money and get to fly when you want!
These procedures will save you a lot of money and are not that
difficult, try them out and save yourself some cash.
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