How to Purchase Cheap Airline Tickets

Passengers on the same flight rarely pay the same price for their tickets. Numerous factors determine ticket prices, but the surest way to get the best deal is to be thorough, be flexible and know where to shop.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Be thorough. Don't rely just on travel Web sites for the best deal; call airlines and travel agents, and ask about promotional or special fares. Look for Internet specials on Web sites of smaller airlines such as Southwest Airlines (southwest.com), JetBlue Airways (jetblue.com), Ryanair (ryanair.com), AirTran Airways (airtran.com) and WestJet (westjet.com). Also browse your local Sunday newspaper's travel section and major travel magazines.
2. Be flexible. Avoid peak vacation months and holidays, buy as far in advance as possible, fly midweek and off-hours, and stay over Saturday night. Better yet, put your vacation on stand by until a fare war erupts.
3. Research all the major online travel agencies such as Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com and lastminute.com. Each has a unique arrangement with the airlines and may offer different fares on the same flights. Each site also offers numerous package deals and last-minute bargains that change daily.
4. Book your flight as part of a travel package that includes car rental and hotel accommodations. Such deals are sold in bulk to tour operators who resell them to the public at prices that are usually far less than standard a` la carte rates. Most major airlines offer their own vacation packages, such as United Vacations (unitedvacations.com).
5. Consider the name-your-own-price ticket providers such as priceline.com and Hotwire.com. You can save up to 40 percent over the lowest published airfares, but it's not without risk: The exact airline, flight times and routes are not disclosed to you until after you've purchased your tickets: think red-eye and layovers.
6. Purchase from a consolidator--a wholesaler that buys discount tickets in bulk. It's an excellent resource for cheap international tickets. The Sunday travel section of the New York Times and Los Angeles Times are the best sources for consolidator fares, but they're often nonrefundable or have brutal cancellation penalties.
7. Look into courier flights, where companies hire a courier (you) and use your excess baggage allowance for their time-sensitive business cargo (see How to Fly for Free).

What to Look For:

• Promotional discount fares
• Small and regional airlines
• Fare wars
• Package deals
• Last-minute bargains
• Vacation packages
• Internet rates
• Consolidators
• Courier flights

Tips & Warnings

• Many charter operators sell their discount vacation packages only through travel agents, so don't rely solely on Web-based fares.
• Last-minute airfare specials are often available through free weekly e-mail announcements from airlines. They're usually announced on Tuesday or Wednesday for travel that Saturday, and tickets must be purchased online.
• Try to book a ticket in its country of origin. For instance, if you're planning a one-way flight from Paris to Rome, a France-based travel agency will probably offer the lowest fares.
• Lowest-price fares often require one to three weeks' advance purchase, are nonrefundable, require a certain length of stay, and carry stiff penalties for changing dates and destinations.