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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
Split ticketing is a powerful and exciting strategy that will allow you to save money, fly on preferred airlines, and create stopovers. Here are some suggestions for utilizing this air ticketing ploy.
Check for flights to South America and Central America through Miami, Los Angeles, or New York.
Flights to Asia and Australia through Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Flights to Hawaii through Los Angeles airports (check them all), San Francisco (Oakland and San Jose also), Seattle, and Las Vegas.
Flights to Europe through New York.
Always check around for the cheapest fares from other cities. There may be incredible fares between Chicago and South America or Atlanta and Hawaii. You really never know. Two good sources are Air-fare.com and Kayak's Buzz feature.
Happy hunting!© 2008, Charles McCool
"Can you really do that?"
In my travel classes, I hear that often from the students. One of my favorite ploys is to find two separate round-trip tickets for a flight that requires a connection anyway. Not only can you save money, but you can choose to fly on airlines you want and you can create your own stopover. What does all that mean?
First, you might be able to save significant money. Fares between the US East coast and Australia are usually at least $1,200 ($1,050 right now). I was lucky enough to find a fare last week between Los Angeles and Sydney (or Brisbane) for $500 (on Virgin America). Combine that with a $200 fare between the East coast and Los Angeles, and I will save $300 to $500. A specific example is Nashville to Lome (Togo, Africa). That fare is $2,700 but splitting fares through Europe (Frankfurt, Paris, London, etc.) will save $1,200.
Second, you can choose the airlines. Only one airline at the moment has fares under $1,500 between Washington-Dulles and Australia. However, many airlines fly between Dulles and Los Angeles. Many others fly between Los Angeles and Sydney. I might as well pick airlines that I want to fly on instead of the only one offering a full round-trip between Dulles and Australia.
Third, you can make your own stopovers. In other words, you can have tow (or three or more) vacations during the same trip. If I bought the only sub-$1,500 fare between Dulles and Sydney, that airline would not allow me to stopover in Los Angeles; I would have to take the next connecting flight. By buying separate tickets, I can choose how long to stay in Los Angeles before flying on to Australia. It is even possible to get really clever and arrange the two round trips so that stopovers can be made in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and perhaps even Honolulu.© 2008, Charles McCool
