How to Use the Web to Plan Air Travel

Traveling is an exciting adventure, whether you are going on vacation or on a business trip. The web has made it easy for you to plan and purchase a ticket conveniently from the comfort of your home or office. Using easy-to-use travel search engines, you can search multiple airlines, hotels and resorts by price conveniently. This allows you to compare and contrast different travel packages to find the one that meets your traveling needs.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Navigate to the travel website of your choice. There are many options and are all similar in navigation but offer different travel packages. It would be advisable to visit all of them so you can compare and contrast your findings.

2. Begin building your trip by selecting the travel options that works best for you. If you are interested in lodging and car rental, select the "flight + hotel + car" option. Selecting all three options could yield a cheaper travel package.

3. Specify whether your trip will be "one way," "round trip," "multi-city," or "weekend." Depending on the season you may get cheaper price by purchasing a "round Trip" ticket.

4. Type in the code of the airport you plan to fly from and the code of the airport you plan to fly to. If you do not know any of the airport codes, type the name of the cities you plan to fly to and from, and the airport code will be automatically generated for you.

5. Type in your departure and return date and select the number of people who will be traveling. Select the class you are looking for. Choose from "economy," "business," or "first class."

6. Specify whether you are looking for non-stop flights or if you don't mind layovers. Keep in mind that non-stop flights will likely cost you more money.

7. Click the "search for flights" button after customizing your trip. When the search is complete, compare the different flight packages offered by the different airlines so that you can get the best deal.

8. Check for last-minute deals by clicking the "vacation packages" button if you still haven't found the package that works best for you. Travel web sites usually have a "vacation packages" list which offers cheaper packages during certain seasons and dates.

9. Book your flight when you are satisfied with your selection. Read through the terms and conditions of your ticket carefully before completing the purchase. Once the purchase is complete, an online ticket (e-ticket) will sent to the email address you supplied when your purchased you ticket.

Resources

• Expedia.com
• Priceline.com
• Travelocity.com
• Orbitz.com