booking

Fly Away! The Ultimate Guide to Budget Airlines Travel

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:13:55 PST

In the past, traveling by air was often considered a luxury because of the fact that airplane tickets cost such a substantial amount of money. Now, almost everyone can allow themselves to fly to their desired destination with the lowest airfares available. Using these great tips and links, airfare packages have never been easier to find cheaply

The concept of low cost airfares is not surprising, and it has become a new trend and phenomenon in the world of traveling. This concept has been well received by low and medium income families who can now also fly to their desired destinations. The foremost aim of the low cost airfare concept is to enable even more people to travel a great deal more often.

How Can Airlines Offer Such Low Cost Airfares?

The low-cost airline's main mission is to offer a more inexpensive, convenient and simpler form of transportation to its travelers. To achieve this mission, the airlines have to cut their costs to a minimum by eliminating some unnecessary expenditure.

The main feature of low cost carriers is that their airfares are extremely lower than other big-scale airline companies. In Europe, for example, their airfares are half or less than that the larger airline company's airfares. Many of these airfares are often lower than train tickets. Despite lower airfares, the profits of these airlines are often higher than larger airlines, with their sales profits going as high as 20 to 30%.

Low cost carriers do not use the major airports, instead they fly to and from secondary airports that are not necessarily the busiest. These secondary airports usually have lower operating costs than bigger major airports. Furthermore, the secondary airports are less congested and their “turnaround times” are shorter for the flights. Many European cities have more than one airport and for many small cities that are adjacent to the major cities, they often have their own airports. Because Europe's railways and highways use a very developed network, the passengers do not usually feel any inconvenience if the airports are located a little farther away from the major cities.

Low-cost carriers maintain lower labor costs because they mainly engage in short-distance business trips, and the pilots and crews do not stay overnight. Their wages are much lower than larger airline companies, and yet the average flying time is much longer. As the routes are allocated for only 2 to 3 hours for the short-haul flights, passengers are not usually provided with free meals. All foods and drinks sold are an addition.

No seats are reserved or allocated for passengers and so they will have to take any seats available, but luggage is allowed to be checked-in and taken on board.

The seating space in the plane is usually narrowed to allow more space for accommodating more passengers on board the flight. In this manner, their revenue can help in boosting their profits by at least 10%. Because flights are generally shorter, the passengers can easily accept the narrow distance between the seats.

These low cost airlines usually sell their air tickets via travel agents, travel-based search engines, and the internet, and do not need to rent a huge office space which may incur higher costs. By booking flights via internet or through an airline's call center, you do not have to pay a travel agent any commission, which would otherwise increase the airfares. You will end up saving even more money by not using travel agents to book a reservation.

Most low cost carriers cut their costs because no arrangements are made with any airline companies on flight transfers or connecting flights which would otherwise be reflected in the airfares. They employ pilots, flight attendants, operations personnel and mechanics who are specialized in a single type of aircraft, which saves the expenditure of re-training the staff, instead of maintaining a stock with parts for different types of aircraft. These are some of the reasons why the pricing is more affordable, economic and extremely low.

7 Essential Tips To Getting Low Cost Airfares

The low cost airline companies will catch your attention with extremely low airfares banners or advertisements that require you to book the tickets 6 or 9 months ahead of the traveling date. You have to grab these opportunities by making a reservation from their respective websites. These airfares get sold very fast.
Once the tickets are sold out, the low-cost seats will not be available anymore and you will have to pay more if you purchase the ticket later. You have to book the ticket immediately as it will last only 24 hours. In other words, you have to plan your trip earlier and book the ticket in advance. By doing this, you may be able to get the best deal that is worth every penny.
Now, you need to get a list of low cost airlines. You may use the suggested list attached in this article to choose your desired traveling destinations. E-mail the airlines to obtain some details on when their companies offer a promotional trip package, when the low cost airfares are on sale, and when to look for seasonal or discounted airfares. Once you get a list from them, you can familiarize yourself with the low cost airlines that fly from your local or nearby airport to your desired destination. This information may also be included on your local airports website.
With these e-mail lists at hand you will be one step closer to getting to know which new destinations are launched that can generally offer discounted or low airfares as an added promotion to attract tourists to visit those places. They also offer numerous packages which can include car rentals and hotels. This way, you can save money instead of paying for each particular aspect of the flight individually.
Browse through the dates on low airfare searches in order to find out how much you can save. You will be surprised to find out that the rates for weekdays, weekends, school holidays, public holidays and seasonal holidays all have different rates. You should try to travel during the off-peak seasons in order to get the discounted or low cost airfare packages.
Because flights are usually not fully occupied during the off season, you will receive better discounts. The airfare in general, is also less for morning flights than for evening flights because the airlines want to make sure the flight will be fully occupied before the plane takes off.
In some cases, you will have to be patient while you wait for the release of cheap airfares. Some big airlines buy tickets in bulk and resell them at lower rates through the internet. This is because they want to sell as many tickets as they can to make sure that their flights are fully occupied.

It is important to do some research trying various sources while looking for cheap airfares. The information is usually available at sites set up by airlines, travel agencies, or travel-based search engine sites. Internet is by far the best option to let you to search through as many sources in the fastest and most most effective way to let you obtain all the information you want. Search engines like Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity or Mobissimo enable you to search travel sites for the cheapest fares by simply entering the date of travel and the destination. After you hit the Search button, all related flights information will be displayed on the screen. If you are happy with the airfare, you can book your ticket immediately.

Remember, do not make a quick decision. You should always check on multiple search engines like Kayak, Cheapflights, Iwantthatflight, Attitudetravel, Qixo, Whichbudge, Cheapair, SKYSCANNER, Wikipedia or Bookingbuddy to compare the airfares. The travel agencies can have prices much higher or much lower than another. Make sure that you check with the airlines about whether the airfare includes routes (direct flights, stopovers or connecting flights), refunds or extra charges, and if their rules for cancellations before buying the tickets suits you.

A hotel plus air package is often worth buying because the prices are offered at a rate lower than the airfare without the hotel accommodations. Lastminute.com has been found to have some of the the best deals in this field. The Travelocity who owns Lastminute is one of the best options for you to book your last minute travel reservations while still helping you save money.

Always make sure that you keep abreast of the different airfares offered by various airlines companies. The prices fluctuate like the stock market and the airlines may update their domestic fares up to two or three times a day. If you are serious about saving your money, you should really check them out regularly.

Try to combine two separate fares rather than buying an individual airfare which will probably cost you more. Travelocity or another travel-based search engine may provide you with even more information regarding combining fares.

Where to Get an Affordable, Economic and Low Cost Airfare?

The links below offer some of the lowest operating costs for airlines in Africa, Asia, Europe, America, Middle East and Oceania regions and were compiled from various resources.

AFRICA REGION

Morocco

Nigeria

South Africa

AMERICA REGION

Argentina

LAPA

Brazil

Columbia

Canada

Mexico

United States

Uruguay

ASIA REGION

Bangladesh

China

Indonesia

Japan

South Korea

Malaysia

Pakistan

Philippines

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Mihin Lanka

Thailand

Vietnam

Pacific Airlines

EUROPE REGION

Austria

Belgium

Brussels Airlines

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Smart Wings

Denmark

Sterling Airlines

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Wizz Air

Iceland

Italy

Latvia

AirBaltic

Netherlands

Norway

Norwegian Air Shuttle

Poland

Romania

Blue Air

Russia

Slovakia

SkyEurope

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Flybaboo

Turkey

United Kingdom

MIDDLE EAST REGION

Kuwait

Jazeera Airways

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

OCEANIA REGION

Australia

New Zealand

I hope this article will be useful and helpful for those who wish to find the cheapest airfare available. Bon Voyage!

How to Get Employee Pricing at Hotels?

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:24:54 PST

Here's the scenario - you get off a crowded plane, catch a cab to your hotel just to find that they have lost your reservation and don't have a room for you because the hotel is fully booked. You find out that the hotel is servicing an international conference that is in town on the same weekend that you decided to get away for some R&R.

You make your way out of the lobby and into the next hotel. The lady at the desk is ready to check you in, under the conference rate of $99 per night, a saving of over $200 to stay at the Hyatt instead of the Best Western across the street. What a great deal! The only thing is, is your conscience - are you going to tell her the truth that you are not in town for the conference? Heck no. Why does she care?

Believe it or not, hotels do cater to conferences and events happening in town. The discounts can vary, depending on how many attendees come into town for the conference. Take for example, the RSA Conference in San Francisco during the April 7 - 11, 2008. They estimate over 17,000 people will be attending, so they have negotiated with several hotels in the area and have come up with some pretty good rates. I've compared their rates with rates I've obtained using my traveller's search engine (which is a culmination of Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, etc.). Here's the comparison:

JW Marriott - my price $319, their price $289
Westin St Francis - my price $284, their price $249
W - my price $440, their price $279
St Regis - my price $469, their price $379
Prescott - my price $323, their price $174

Depending on the hotel, you can save anywhere from 10-40% off. Don't feel bad that you are staying with them and not attending the conference. It's not like you're staying for free. You are a paid customer and a welcomed guest of the hotel.

If you're interested in being in San Francisco during this time, book a hotel of your choice by calling reservations and telling them you are attending the RSA Conference.

How to Sleep on a Plane and Other Long Haul Travel Tips

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:37:15 PST

Sometimes it feels like I have lived half my life in the sky. Funny as a kid, I always thought there was magic above the clouds. Turns out, it's just recycled air and bad food. There are however, a few tips to make the journey more enjoyable (or at least less uncomfortable):

Before Booking Your Ticket

If you are flying economy (as most of us poor worker bees do) you want to first visit Seat Guru. This terrific website allows you to type in your airline and get a list of the best and worst seats in there entire fleet of planes. You have to decide if being too close to the bathroom is worth the trade off of having extra legroom.
Booking Your Ticket
The second tip is when you book your ticket. Most tickets are bought online now and you always have the option of choosing your own seat. Now if you are travelling alone always look for group of seats where an aisle or window are already taken. You then take the other aisle or window seat, leaving the middle free. These middle seats fill up last so you have a greater chance of having a free seat. And I don't need to tell experienced economy travellers how valuable a free middle seat is. Now if you are travelling as a couple, choose both the window and the aisle leaving the middle open. If the seat gets taken, no one will mind changing from the middle seat so you can sit together and if it is not taken, it's a much more pleasant flight.
Booking Your Meal

When you book your ticket you can also choose from a variety of meals (low fat, vegetarian, kosher, etc). I quite often will order one of these meals because you get served first (more sleep time) and often they are fresher.
Before You Leave for the Airport
A lot of people will tell you to check in online. They say it's quicker and you don't have to get to the airport as early. It might be quicker if you have no luggage but if you have bags to check, that line is often just as long as the check in line.

Also, if you check in you have the opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Don't be a jerk about it, dress well and ask nicely. I always say “if the flight is booked and you need to bump someone to business I'd be willing to change seats”. They usually smile at you and tell you they will see what they can do. Quite often you won't know until boarding, when they take your boarding pass and issue you a new one (in business!!!).

I would say I have gotten an upgrade about 10% of the time just by being nice and polite. Also if you are pregnant, tell them. I flew 4 times during my second trimester and got an upgrade on every flight.
At the Airport
Arrive early and bring a book. I try really hard not to work when I travel on long haul flights. I find if I relax at the airport beforehand I am much more likely to sleep on the flight.
Boarding

As soon as they call your plane boarding, use the restroom. This reduces the amount of airplane washroom trips. And then just relax until the line is finished. Why rush to get on the plane and sit in those cramped seats before you have to. Stay in the boarding lounge and watch the line. I always get up when I see about 6 people left to go through. I have never understood the rush to get on the plane first. I wonder if those people think they will get there sooner.
On the Plane
Before you even sit down get out everything you want for the flight and put it within your grasp. Book and bottle of water can go in the pocket in front of you. Laptop (if you HAVE to work) can go under the seat in front of you.
Dinner Service
Hopefully you pre-ordered your special meal and you will eat first. This is perfect if the middle seat is free. You can finish your meal; put the tray in the middle seat and watch a movie and drift off to sleep. My big secret here is to take a Nyquil tablet with my dinner (not when I am pregnant though!). Its amazing how much more likely I am to sleep. I don't take sleeping pills at all but that Nyquil puts me out and I wake up feeling great.
Sleeping

Your Nyquil should be kicking in. Put on your headphones even if you aren't watching the movie so that people won't talk to you. Put your seat back as far as possible. Don't worry about the guy behind you; the guy in front of you isn't worried about you. Pull out the foot bar from under the seat in front of you. Unbutton your pants, pull up the blanket up to your chin and head off to dreamland before the guy beside you starts snoring.
Arrival

Here it pays to get off the plane quickly. If you can walk fast do it. You have to get ahead of all the rest of those passengers or you will be stuck behind them at passport control/customs. Use the moving sidewalks and walk on them!
Passport Control/Customs

Your journey is almost over. You have made it this far. You are well rested, well fed and just got some great exercise racing to customs. All you need to do here is have your documentation ready, be courteous, be polite and avoid the line with a slightly chubby, dark haired Canadian woman because I NEVER get through without a hassle.

So next time you have an overseas or other long haul flight try these little tips and maybe you can find a little of the magic that exists above the clouds.