How to save on airfares the easy way

This is my article published many years ago on USAToday.com. I have been involved recently in many research projects. I will continue to re-publish favorite travel skills articles. Let me know what topics are of interest to you

How to save on airfares the easy way

Check various routes to ensure you find lower airfares. A nonstop flight may be more or less expensive than a connecting or direct flight. Lower airfares may result from connecting in certain airports rather than others. Being a bit more creative with the routing can save you a bundle. On longer (such as transoceanic) flights, try splitting your itinerary into two separate roundtrips. For instance, lower airfares between Northeast cities and Hawaii can often be found through California (LAX, SFO, OAK). Buy separate Northeast-to-California and California-to-Hawaii roundtrip tickets; the total price can be much lower than the Northeast-to-Hawaii fare. In addition, split tickets allow consumers to select preferred airlines and create a stopover vacation

It pays (saves!) to shop around. Sometimes lower airfares are offered by certain websites, travel agents, or directly from the airline.

When you see a fantastic fare price, such as during a fare war (which can be up to nine months before flying), make your plans. You might not find better deals as the travel date approaches. When the fare drops, however, most airlines allow consumers to rebook and receive a travel voucher for the difference (as long as seats are available).

-Charles McCool, author, Winning the Airfare Game

$29 flights, DC area to Orlando, January 2009

I do not want to turn this blog into a deal finder. There are plenty of those in the internet world. You and I can always find a travel deal. The question is whether or not it will be appropriate, useful, and convenient. Here is a great deal for readers in the Washington, DC and Orlando, Florida areas.

Allegient Air is selling flights between Hagerstown, Maryland and Orlando/Sanford airport for only $29 each way. Flights are available on Mondays and Fridays during January 2009. I just looked at Allegient Air and there are plenty of seats; a couple of the dates are more expensive.

Please remember, if you buy something from Amazon.com, please use my affiliate link at http://www.lowerairfares.com or
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© 2008, Charles McCool

One Way Flights

"I did not know you could do that", someone said when I told them that I bought one way tickets for a recent trip.

Why would I buy one way tickets? Why should you consider them? The simple answer is that you can potentially save lots of money or find more convenient flights.

Sometimes, a round trip flight is more expensive than it should be because one the flights (outbound or return) has fewer available seats. For example, your outbound flight is as cheap as it can be but the return flight is $100 higher. In this case, buy your outbound flight as a one way ticket and look for a return flight on another airline for $100 less.

How do I do that?

On Kayak, click the "One-way" button and search each date. On Orbitz, click the "One-way" underlined option. It is that simple with other booking engines, too.

There are other times to look for one way flights.

* Buying a one way flight allows you to drive or take a train in one direction (or take a "permanent vacation").

* Buying one way flights lets you use different airports. Instead of a simple round trip between two cities, let's say you will fly from New York to Los Angeles, drive up highway 1, and fly back from San Francisco.

* For long trips (like a summer in Europe), buy two one way tickets instead of a round trip ticket, since most round trips require a return within 30 days.* One way flights may be more convenient with the routings (nonstop or better connection airport), days and times, or whatever (preferred airline, frequent flyer bonus, to fly with family/friends).

Fortunately, one way flights are easy to find, as the legacy carriers must offer them to compete with smaller airlines (like Southwest and jetBlue). Finding one way car rentals can be a challenge but that is another skill for another time.

By the way, my recent one way flights were Baltimore to Seattle and Calgary to Washington-Dulles. That shows you can get creative with your routings to have wonderful trips.

© 2008, Charles McCool