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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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