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Welcome!
You might know me from my top-rated
guides on Saving
Electricity and How
to Buy a House. On this site I give my
usual practical, no-nonsense treatment to the
subject of cheap airfares.
In fact, though, I'm hoping you don't
fly, because flying
causes climate change. So why do I
have a site about how to get the cheapest airfare
if I don't want you to fly? Because by having
this site, I'm getting your attention. Having a
popular travel site lets me get my message in front
of the very people I hope to reach: travelers. I
know that most people won't decide not to fly after
seeing this message, but some will, and every
little bit helps. So it's ironic, but having a
cheap airfare site is actually a good way for me to
encourage people not to fly.
Still, to get my message out this site has to
be popular, and to be popular I have to provide
excellent information, so I don't hold back on the
goods just because I'm hoping you won't buy a
ticket. For example, here's something you'll
rarely see anywhere else: Did you know that if you
search Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, or LowestFare,
you won't see flights offered by Southwest
Airlines -- even though Southwest has some of the
best U.S. fares around? If you book on one of these
sites for a route that Southwest serves there's a
good chance you'll pay too much -- probably not
what you were expecting if you went to a site
called "Lowest Fare"!
If you were to try to find all the stuff I now
list on this site on your own it would take you a
while -- but now you don't have to, since it's all
right here. So if you do buy a ticket, this site
won't just save you some money, it will also save
you some time. Good luck!
-- M. Bluejay,
editor
P.S. While not flying is the best, if you're
committed to flying anyway, there are a
number of ways to offset the damage.
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A
d v e r t i s e m e n t
Travel
Accessories
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Plush Sleep Mask
Pillowy soft velour and cushioned
padding block light and soothe tired eyes.
Adjustable elastic straps keep mask in
place. Hand washable with mild soap and
water.
$9.00
Chiropractic Neck
Pillow
Arrive refreshed with this patented deluxe
neck rest. Designed by a chiropractor to
provide extra, comfortable support for
your upper neck and head. Helps avoid
tired, cramped neck muscles at home or
away.
$9.00
Noise
Cancellation Stereo Headphones
Reduces noise up to 15 dB, which is 20%
more than other headphones in this price
range. Lightweight and comfortable for
extended wear. Volume control on cord.
Includes airline adapter, carrying pouch
and AAA battery. Foldable design is ideal
for travel and commuting. Made by
EarHugger, a company that specializes in
headphone design and manufacture. Gold
plated 3.5 mm stereo plug with 4' cord.
Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz.
$49.00
No Jet Lag
Homeopathic remedy to counter jet-lag.
Since 1990, thousands of long-distance
travelers have depended on No
Jet-Lag™ to help them feel fresh on
arrival after flying. The manufacturer,
Miers Laboratories of Wellington, New
Zealand, has been listed with the FDA
since 1992. No Jet-Lag is listed by the
FDA for over-the-counter sale in the U.S.,
and has passed Olympic standards tests as
being free from any traces of banned
drugs.
$12.00
Visit TravelProducts.com for
more
travel
accessories.
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Sample
fanmail:
I am booking a flight to Australia and the original
airfare estimates I was finding were pretty high. STA Travel
had no availability within when I called them direct, so it
was off to the web search. Through some finessing and using
your tips, I've started to come across cheaper fares than I
thought I could find - by being a bit flexible of course. I
wish I had known about you last year when I booked! I think
I'll be able to find a good deal thanks to this site.
Cheers!
--Kevin
Jeffcoat, May 2006
Read more fan mail
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Aesthetic
Realism Cult
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This doesn't have anything to do with cheap
airfare, but I wanted to give a little plug for
another new site I made to document my experiences
as a former member of the Aesthetic
Realism cult. Check it out, and link to it if
you think more people ought to know about it.
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Top 10 Tips for
getting the Cheapest Airfare
#1
Be flexible with your travel
dates.
If
you insist on traveling on specific dates you'll
pay a lot more. If you can leave or return even
a day earlier or later you'll often save you a lot
of money. Use Travelocity
to find airfares for flexible travel dates. (Click
"flexible dates".) Kayak
and Orbitz
also have flexible date finders but they're not
quite as, er, flexible.
This
is our #1 tip for getting the best airfare!
Ignore it at your peril.
Sample
fares we just checked1:
- $444 - Insist on leaving on the 5th
and returning on the 7th
- $333 -Willing to leave on the 5th and
return on the 8th
For international flights the difference can be
even greater.
Here's more on flexible
dates.
#2
Book at least two weeks ahead, preferably
three.
When
you buy early you save. Book at least
two weeks before your flight (preferably three),
and at least 30 days for international flights.
Sample
fares we just checked2:
- $444 - Booked 5 days in advance
- $261 - Booked 19 days in advance
- $192 - Booked 26 days in advance
#3
Staying over Saturday no longer
necessary.
So
far as I can tell, the old conventional wisdom
of staying over a Saturday night before returning
is no longer necessary. I tried numerous
searches and the return flight was never any
cheaper if I set it for Sunday or later.
#4
Fly mid-week if you can.
Weekend
flights are usually more expensive because that's
when most people fly. Flying midweek usually
means a cheaper fare.
Sample
fares we just checked3:
- $412 - Leave Sunday, return next
Sunday
- $337 - Leave Monday, return next
Monday
- $337 - Leave Friday, return next
Friday
- $314 - Leave
Tue/Wed/or Thu, return next
Tue/Wed/Thu
#5
Using neighboring airports sometimes gets you
cheaper airfares.
Several times we've
saved a lot of money by flying into the Newark, NJ
airport instead of into a New York airport,
even though each was about the same distance from
our destination in New York City. Once we saved
$200 by flying into Philadelphia instead of
Atlantic City, then took a $6 train ride (1.5
hours) to Atlantic City. Kayak,
Travelocity
and Orbitz
can automatically search neighboring airports
for you. Kayak
is nice by giving you a nice list of the prices for
each airport it finds (rather than dumping all the
results together.
#6
Always check the round-trip price even if
you're flying one-way.
For some bizarre
reason, one-ways often cost more than
round-trip. We just checked Austin to San Jose,
and round trip was $274, while one-way was over
$700! On international flights the savings can be
even bigger. Tokyo to Las Vegas in 2007: round trip
$930, one-way $1720.
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#7
Avoid busy holiday dates
Most
people leave the day before Thanksgiving and return
the Sunday after. For that reason those are the
most expensive dates to travel. You'll save money
if you travel on Thanksgiving Day itself, or if you
return the following Friday, Saturday, or
Monday.
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Expensive
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Cheaper
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Day before Thanksgiving
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Thanksgiving Day itself
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The Sunday after Thanksgiving
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The Friday, Saturday or Monday after
Thanksgiving
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Sample Thanksgiving fares we
checked4
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Price
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Wed.
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Thu.
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Fri.
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Sat.
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Sun.
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Mon.
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$498
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$495
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$417
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$363
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$363
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$350
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$348
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$340
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#8
Book multi-city trips using the special
search
If
you're traveling to City A, then to City B, then
returning to your original city, use the special
Multi-City search provided by most search
engines. Momondo and Hotwire are the only major
engines that don't offer this feature.
#9
For U.S. to Europe, fly to London
first
Kelly
Fine of Alternative
Wedding Ceremonies writes: "We found that it
was much cheaper to fly to London on one airline
and fly from London to the Continent on another
airline. This seemed to be true no matter what city
in Europe we wanted to go to. And it was impossible
to find a cheap flight from anywhere to Bratislava,
so we found a flight to Vienna, which is only a
little over an hour by bus from Bratislava. Flying
into central and eastern Europe is much more
expensive than flying to western Europe." See
more on international
fares.
#10
Use the proper website to search for
airfare
If your travel dates are super-flexible, try
Travelocity
or Orbitz.
For semi-flexible or specific-date U.S.
flights, use Kayak
& Southwest.
For international flights, use Kayak,
Momondo
and Mobissimo.
1,2 Austin to Las
Vegas
3,4 Austin to Chicago
All fares were round trip and checked Oct. 31, 2004
with Orbitz
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Which
website to use
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U.S.
flights
If your travel dates are flexible
Travelocity
or Orbitz,
along with the use of our tips
If you need cheap airfares
at the last minute
Kayak,
Hotwire,
or Travelzoo's
Net Fares, plus our tips
If your travel dates are super-flexible, try
Travelocity
or Orbitz.
For semi-flexible or specific-date U.S.
flights, use Kayak
& Southwest.
For
international flights, use.
For all other domestic
flights (within the U.S.)
Kayak
and Southwest,
along with the use of our tips.
Search engines don't include results
from Southwest, so it's a good idea to check
Southwest separately after checking Kayak.
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International
flights
Special deals for traveling as a
courier:
Air
Travel Couriers association
Best search engines for
International flights
Mobissimo
& Momondo
Regional
sites
Here's more
info on International
airfare.
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More
detailed info
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Everything
above is 90% of what you need to know about getting
cheap airfare. But below is more information for
those who want it:
See the
differences between Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire,
and more.
More
info about how being flexible with your travel
dates can save you money. Includes how to get Fare
Alerts by email.
How to
get cheap airfare for flights starting or ending
outside the U.S.
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This tip
won't save you any money, but it will make your
flight more comfortable: When you sit in an exit
row, you get extra legroom. See our list of exit
rows on popular airlines.
United
has the worst customer service and the worst
reputation of any major U.S. carrier. I will always
fly another airline even if I have to pay a little
more. This page details my experience with United
the last and final time I flew with them.
When
people save money by using this site they get
excited and tell me about it. Read their giddy
tirades here.
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 Thanks
for visiting, and I hope you liked the site.
I'll leave you with a couple of hand-picked
ads.
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Find
which travel days are cheapest
If your travel dates are flexible, just enter
the cities you're flying between and let
Travelocity find which days are cheapest to fly.
Being flexible with your travel dates is our #1 tip
for getting the cheapest airfare.
Travelocity.com
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Bluejay recommends Kayak:
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Vegetarian
Meals
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Travelocity
says: "Meal choices vary from airline to airline,
but alternative options almost always include
vegetarian, low salt, and kosher options. In
addition, you may be able to request vegan, Hindu,
high-fiber, or gluten-free meals, among others.
Many passengers not on restricted diets order these
meals, as they are usually made with more care than
the standard fare, and are tastier. To order a
special meal, call the airline at least 24 hours
prior to the flight." [Ed. Note: Most online
booking sites let you specify vegetarian meals
online when you book, but not all of them do. If
you want to make sure you get the right kind of
meal, call the airline after you purchase your
ticket.]
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