| To find cheap airfare, you need to do a little research. | | | | options. When the savings aren't enough, you can |
| Start with the well-known sites, like Expedia, | | | | always book first class, direct flights, or whatever you |
| Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Hotwire or Priceline. The | | | | prefer. |
| travel agencies just can't compete with the discount | | | | Purchasing ahead of time gets you cheaper airfare. |
| sites any longer. You can also find cheap airfare by | | | | Less than a week away tends to be expensive, |
| using the search engines. Type in something like | | | | although you never can tell in the mysterious realm of |
| "cheap plane tickets" and the destination. | | | | airfare pricing. At times the "last minute specials" are |
| I just checked fares from Tucson, Arizona to | | | | the best thing going. |
| Traverse City, Michigan on the five sites mentioned | | | | Place a bid to find cheap airfare. Priceline still has a |
| above. Tickets ranged from $704 to $432 for the | | | | "Name Your Own Price" feature. You make your bid, |
| cheapest at each site (and up to $500 more for the | | | | and the airlines say yes or no, according to whether |
| most expensive). It isn't important which was cheapest | | | | they have empty seats to fill. The way to use this is to |
| (oh, okay, it was Expedia). It isn't important because | | | | first search for the cheapest tickets you can find |
| you never know from day to day which sites will find | | | | online, then go and bid lower than that. If the bid is |
| the cheapest flights. It changes all the time | | | | rejected, return to the website where you found the |
| When you search, always check at least three places. | | | | best deal and book it. |
| It would mean a savings of $272 in the above | | | | Package deals, where you pay for plane tickets and |
| example. Flight durations were within minutes of each | | | | your hotel room, can sometimes save you money. |
| other, by the way, and the food is probably equally bad | | | | Personally, I haven't had much luck with these, but it |
| on all the flights. | | | | can't hurt to look at them. |
| Find Cheap Airfare With Flexibility | | | | Really Cheap Airfare |
| Sometimes it's cheaper to buy two tickets. The lowest | | | | I once took a bus from Michigan to Miami, and flew |
| rate from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Tucson, Arizona | | | | from there to Ecuador. At the time saving hundreds of |
| is $451 roundtrip as I write this. Las Vegas to Tucson is | | | | dollars was worth 38 hours on a bus. Usually this won't |
| $161, however, and there are $199 specials to Vegas | | | | save you much on domestic flights. For example, at |
| from Grand Rapids. Is saving $91 worth booking two | | | | the moment, taking a bus from Traverse City to |
| flights? Your call (It saved us over $1000 when we | | | | Detroit, then flying to Los Angeles, would only save |
| went to South America). Careful on the timing, though. | | | | about $70 (allowing for cab fare to the airport) |
| You probably won't get a refund if you miss the | | | | compared with flying directly. |
| connection. | | | | Other options are beyond the scope of this article. For |
| More flexibility is the way to find cheap airfare. Check | | | | example, courier flights can be a great deal if you don't |
| different departure and return dates. Click on "2 or | | | | mind letting a company use your baggage allowance |
| more connecting flights," and mark "anytime" for | | | | (you get carry-on only). Then there are the stand-by |
| departure. Even if you don't want to leave at midnight, | | | | deals, last minute deals and other ways to find cheap |
| the savings might change your mind, so try all the | | | | airfare. |