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Direct Discount Airline Travel Opportunities: The Stuff Travel Agents Won’t Talk About

April 24, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

You can kick off your adventure on a high with discount airline travel or a nice no-frills airfare. (Some people refer to low cost airlines as low cost carriers (LCC) or no frills airlines).

But how exactly do you snap up that discount airfare?

Probably the easiest way is to book your tickets online. The trick is to find the real low cost carrier’s website rather than affiliate websites which may sting you with extra commission on top of your ticket costs.

After all, you’re after discount airline travel, right?

You need to look around and often search deep into Google (past page one) as well as check and double check the surcharges, extra taxes and other costs that might be added to the ticket cost.

Remember that sometimes an air fare will look amazingly cheap but have hefty taxes added. So do your due diligence at all times.

You can also check out the major airlines as these guys do discount too and run promotions and special one week flight sales. When you see one of these you just need to know one thing. ACT quick! (And book quickly). The really low cost flights tend to go crazy fast.

Another thing to keep in mind is that discount airline travel sometimes means that you have to travel LIGHT.

In other words, they may impose low baggage allowances, due to the low cost of the airfare. So don’t assume – always check what the limits are and what you can carry on.

You don’t want to get stung with a serious cash payment because your baggage was over limit – nor do you want to be refused boarding.

How To Grab Really Cheap Flights

Here’s a few things you can do to snap up those cheap airline tickets:

  • Fly off-peak when you can
  • Book your ticket well in advance
  • Book your tickets during sales
  • Allow yourself flexibility for routes
  • Know the airlines and have an adventure!

The thing about cheap airline travel is that you need to be somewhat flexible and almost ready to go at notice. You may be allocated to whichever seat you can get, and they may not provide in-flight entertainment, water or food either. So, you may want to bring your own food but just double check what you can take onboard or not.

Direct Discount Airline Travel Opportunities: The Stuff Travel Agents Wont Talk About
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Cheap International Flights That Make It Easy To Travel Overseas Any Time Of The Year

April 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Looking for cheap international flights? Wondering how to get your hands on one? In a nutshell, here's what you need to do.

To get low priced international flights you firstly need to have a ballpark idea about where you want to go right from the start – and be prepared to book way, way ahead of when you want to leave.

That way you'll have the flexibility to change arrival and departure travel dates or fly into different airports or cities. Try changing your flight dates if you don't get the results you want at first.

Next up – look for the off peak travel times. In other words, avoid the high travel periods like Christmas, Thanksgiving and those holidays that you know everyone and his brother will be traveling.

The logic is that during the high travel periods most flights will be full and you'd be lucky to find any discounts. On the off peak travel times however, not all flights are full and discounted flights are often plenty.

On a similar note, you sometimes can save yourself the 'weekend surcharge' (which might hit you from $50 up) by flying on weekdays. Just keep that little tidbit in mind.

And snapping up a non stop flight should help you avoid other airport taxes and surcharges too. (Apparently they add their own taxes).

Another way to get cheap international flights is by using airline consolidators. (Also called airline discounters). These guys usually offer rates lower than the airlines themselves (sometimes up to 60% off the normal published fare), but make sure you check the fare rules and requirements.

There's also the good old 'sign up for their specials' option too. Actually this is about as good as you can get! Think about it. You sign up and the airline notifies you every time they have flight specials by email or SMS if you request it.

Pay a little more to join their loyalty program and you get even more perks.

And don't forget your local media too! Always check the travel or flights section of your local newspaper to see the airlines competing hard for your business, listen for radio fares advertised, or check airline websites for updates.

The trick to finding good cheap international flights often comes down to simple research and diligence!

Here's some quick ways you can find cheap international flights:

  • Always shop around, browse the airline websites, look for negotiated fares (common on international flights). Keep your eyes open for discounted prices or those 3 day flight specials.
     
  • You can also try booking an international flight on the phone. The free chat 'talk to a live reservation expert' you may see on airline websites can be beneficial. Booking international flights or tickets online can be slow at times, especially in busy periods.
     
  • Heard of 'destination specialists'? These guys (websites) focus on restricted and specific routes and negotiate with the airlines to get the best low cost fares for those routes. Always worth trying!
     
  • Just remember that the key determining factors in the price of your international flight ticket are: flight duration, the perceived comfort of the airline, and the number of stops.

Two quick recommendations for discount international travel advice are BargainTravel.com and ArtofTravel.com. Have fun!

Daily Flight Tips For Comfortable Travel

Keep yourself relaxed. Place one of the provided airline pillows between your lower back (just below your ribs) and the seat. This will help to ease back soreness. Alternatively, pack your own neck pillow to support your neck. You can purchase inexpensive inflatable neck pillows at most travel shops for around $20.00.

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Looking For Insanely Good Cheap Flights To Thailand?

April 5, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

When looking for cheap flights to Thailand, the airfare alone can eat up a huge chunk of your travel budget. It's a necessary expense that you can't do away with, unless there are other alternative modes of transportation to your intended destination.

But what if there isn't any other alternative, or the remaining options are way too time-consuming and physically exhausting?

Don't write off your travel plans just yet, because here are ways you can minimize your airfare expenses and find good cheap flights to Thailand with just a little effort involved:

Attend Travel And Tourism Fairs And Expos:

These fairs are usually organized by the government, with the participation of various airlines, travel agencies and tour operators who have joined together in a common venue to promote travel and tourism.

Ticketing kiosks are set up by the participating airlines to give you the convenience of booking your itineraries and purchasing your tickets right there, with their friendly staff eager to assist you in your Asian travel needs. (Talk about travel shopping from one booth to another!)

Depending on the organizer, a small fee may be collected for one to be admitted inside the expo. Let me assure you that paying the small entrance fee is worthwhile, because you get to book flights at fares which are way cheaper than normal!

As part of their marketing strategy and specific to this event, airlines usually sell their tickets at "expo rates" to encourage travelers to purchase their tickets way ahead of their intended travel dates.

Leaf Through The Daily Newspaper:

See those little advertisements inserted as space fillers near the top or bottom of the page? Take some time to read those too, because you just might be surprised to find ads from travel agencies offering promo fares, or very tempting cheap flights to Thailand!

Skim through the classified ads as well, for you just might find a bargain amidst all those lines. Lastly, don't ignore the full-color ads, intentionally placed in between pages of the news, announcing an airline's seat sale!

Subscribe To Mailing Lists And Alerts:

If you want to be informed of an airline's ongoing and upcoming promos or cheap travel packages, include your email address to their mailing list. You can go to the airline's website, enter your email address, and then click the link to be subscribed to the mailing list.

Subscription is free anyway, so you lose nothing by receiving an extra email in your inbox.

Some airlines also offer a mobile update service where the updates are in the form of a text message or SMS alert to your cell phone. There may be minimal charges charged by your mobile network operator, so it's best to inquire first before you request for the update service.

Daily Flight Tips For Comfortable Travel

Do periodic stretches. Not only does stretching help keep the blood flowing, but it potentially alleviates any cramping and pains that come from sitting for an extended period of time. Place your hands on the armrests and slowly twist your torso to loosen your upper body.

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