Airline Tickets: Cheap Deals, Around the World Tickets
These days finding a good airfare is hard (especially if you are traveling in Canada). We will provide a few tidbits. We usually find the best deals by going directly to an airline’s website. BUT this is not always true (we recommend your looking at several places for airfares).
Basics About Fares
It used to be that the cheapest ticket was obtained by either booking through a seat sale or well in advance. The climate, however, has changed. Sometimes the fares change on a daily basis – and not by always going up. We have see a high fare on day one, a lower fare on day two, and then a higher fare on day three (and then a week later seen the same pattern). In general, it seems that lower fares can be found if you are looking mid-week – the higher fares are seen at the end of the week.
How To Start Looking for a Low Fare
When looking for a fare, we start by going to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ This website will tell you what airlines fly to your destination and the current low fares available on each airline (as well as the number of connections). You can conduct a search for specific dates or you can look for a given period (e.g. over a month). After getting this information, we then look at other websites (the airline’s website and/or other travel websites) to see if we can find the low fare (or even a lower fare)
Booking the Deal
You should look at fares at general travel websites – e.g. www.expedia.com … if you are originating from the U.S. you may want to try to get a deal at www.priceline.com – this website now gives you two options – first you can take a deal (much like expedia and other travel websites) – or you can try your luck at making a bid for an airfare. If you are going to bid, you have to be flexible with respect to your time of travel. Priceline seems to operate in a fashion where it will go to the airlines and see what they are willing to take in terms of an airfare – most likely the better deals are received by customers willing to wait until the last minute to book their ticket. When dealing with any travel agent (via website or otherwise) do not forget to make sure you have done your homework to verify the agent is reputable. Also, make sure you understand the nature of the ticket – e.g. what happens if your flight is canceled? – what happens if you need to cancel your trip? If you are into collecting points (which we recommend) for your flights, will you receive points for the ticket and at what rate?
Secrets on Fare Classes
If you book on line directly with the airline, it is very difficult to figure out the "booking code" of your flights. American Airlines (www.aa.com ) recently added the booking code on the page that summarizes the flights just before you add in your payment information. But even with this information, it is difficult to figure out how to change your booking code if you are not using a travel agent. Why might you care? It turns out that (surprise, surprise) that fares do change based on booking code (for example not all business fares are the same). Also, if you like to collect airline miles or gain elite status with the airlines, the booking code can affect the number of qualifying points you receive. We did a bit of research on this and will refer you to three websites that will contain more information on this topic. www.flyertalk.com has forums and and bits of information on frequent flyer programs and airline ticket issues. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ will allow you to search for "seat availability" (look for the little button on the opening webpage titled "more options") -- it gives a bit more information but not as much as you would probably like. And the ITA website is a bit clunky -- you have to click on a particular flight and then click on the "booking details" to get the information on the booking code. It seems the best option is www.expertflyer.com -- this site has everything. BUT, you have to pay to use it (about $9.99 U.S. per month, less if you buy a yearly subscription). And if you want to see how many miles are you flying, go to tp://gc.kls2.com.
Seat Assignments
There are two ways to think about seat assignments -- first, how to avoid the middle seat; second, how to get the best seats given your fare class. Avoiding the middle seat is best done by getting a seat assigned as soon as you purchase your ticket. If you book on line you can usually do this as part of your booking. If you cannot, then call the airline directly and ask for a seat assignment. Getting the best seat can be tricky. Generally, bulk head and exit rows are the best. For longer flights, bulk heads are usually saved for families with babies. Exit rows usually (but not always) are assigned at the airport on the day of the flight. Be wary, however, of the first exit row if there are two exit rows (one in front of the other) and be wary of the row in front of an exit row -- often these seats do not recline -- which can be very annoying if you are on a long flight (or what happened to us, on a red-eye flight). The best source we have found for seeing the configuration of a plane is www.seatguru.com. The website tries to display a plane's configuration based on the airline and type of plane.
A Word of Caution
One of the current pitfalls to booking online (even through an airline’s website) is that if an airline closes shop before you take your flight, you could lose the money you paid for the now worthless ticket. If you go through a travel agent, you usually can get your money back. But do not rely on us for the legalities of this stuff. Ask the airline, the travel agency, etc. about this.
Around the World Tickets – Buying one
Given we recently spent some time in Australia, we decided to get there and back by getting an around the world ticket. One of us purchased the ticket. The other got one on points (next paragraph). An Around the World ticket means one travels in one direction (east or west), making stops in several countries/continents. Usually, there is a limit to the number of stops one can make on a given continent. The One World Network (www.oneworld.com, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and others) offer an around the world ticket as does the Star Alliance Network (www.staralliance.com, Air Canada, United, Air New Zealand, and others). Each network prices the ticket differently – usually it is a function of time of year and distance or number of continents. There are also ways to purchase an around the world ticket through a broker (who uses different combinations of airlines). We used the One World option. Under this option all we really had to do was commit to the date and location of the first leg of the trip – all other legs were flexible and could be changed at any time – there is a restriction on the number of continents (but this is based on the price you pay). Note, if you book well in advanced (for example we booked in December for a ticket that began in January but whose most legs would occur in June) a given flight may not be available. But if you keep checking back, usually a seat that can be used with an around the world ticket opens up. Also, if you like to collect airline points -- each leg of the trip may end up being on a different class of fare and so you may not get full mileage for your trip.
Around the World Ticket – Using Airline Points
We also got an around the world ticket using points (from American Airlines). The points ticket pretty much works like a purchased ticket with one BIG exception. When you book the first leg, you must book all remaining legs. Once ticketed you can change the date and time of a flight of any given leg (without charge usually) but you CANNOT change the destination (e.g. if you are booked on a flight to Madrid – you can fly on a different flight but it has to be on the same airline and it has to land in Madrid). This is important to know because it limits flexibility and it can create some problems. If you book your flight in advance (e.g. 6 months in advance), the flights are chosen based on current schedules – if the schedule changes (which can happen if one is booking in winter but flying in summer, for example) you could end up with (a) a canceled flight or (b) a flight with a really tight connection if you have a layover. The airlines will try to accommodate such changes but you can end up with some very wacky layovers as a result. Note, even in this instance an airline would not be willing to switch a destination. For example, we were flying from Capetown to Seville with a layover in London. Because the flight from London changed we had to be put on another flight. This resulted in our having an 8 hour layover in London (before the change we were going to have a 2 hour layover).
Should you consider an around the world ticket using points? Most certainly. For many airlines the extra points needed for an around the world ticket is not significantly greater than getting a round trip ticket. For example an economy seat award between North America and Australia is 75,000 points on American Airlines. To get an around the world ticket was 100,000 points – with this type of ticket we visited Australia, South Arica, Spain, and Greece.
Around the World Ticket – helpful hints when dealing with the airline
Most airlines require you to talk to their “around the world” desk to book and ticket flights. The quality of the agents with whom you speak can very quite dramatically. Also, some are more or less creative than others. Before speaking to the agents, we suggest you go on line and figure out the various ways (and partner airlines) to get you from one destination to the next. It is good to know such things as flight numbers and times of departures and arrivals. This way you can assist a less informed or less creative agent when booking your flights.
Basics About Fares
It used to be that the cheapest ticket was obtained by either booking through a seat sale or well in advance. The climate, however, has changed. Sometimes the fares change on a daily basis – and not by always going up. We have see a high fare on day one, a lower fare on day two, and then a higher fare on day three (and then a week later seen the same pattern). In general, it seems that lower fares can be found if you are looking mid-week – the higher fares are seen at the end of the week.
How To Start Looking for a Low Fare
When looking for a fare, we start by going to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ This website will tell you what airlines fly to your destination and the current low fares available on each airline (as well as the number of connections). You can conduct a search for specific dates or you can look for a given period (e.g. over a month). After getting this information, we then look at other websites (the airline’s website and/or other travel websites) to see if we can find the low fare (or even a lower fare)
Booking the Deal
You should look at fares at general travel websites – e.g. www.expedia.com … if you are originating from the U.S. you may want to try to get a deal at www.priceline.com – this website now gives you two options – first you can take a deal (much like expedia and other travel websites) – or you can try your luck at making a bid for an airfare. If you are going to bid, you have to be flexible with respect to your time of travel. Priceline seems to operate in a fashion where it will go to the airlines and see what they are willing to take in terms of an airfare – most likely the better deals are received by customers willing to wait until the last minute to book their ticket. When dealing with any travel agent (via website or otherwise) do not forget to make sure you have done your homework to verify the agent is reputable. Also, make sure you understand the nature of the ticket – e.g. what happens if your flight is canceled? – what happens if you need to cancel your trip? If you are into collecting points (which we recommend) for your flights, will you receive points for the ticket and at what rate?
Secrets on Fare Classes
If you book on line directly with the airline, it is very difficult to figure out the "booking code" of your flights. American Airlines (www.aa.com ) recently added the booking code on the page that summarizes the flights just before you add in your payment information. But even with this information, it is difficult to figure out how to change your booking code if you are not using a travel agent. Why might you care? It turns out that (surprise, surprise) that fares do change based on booking code (for example not all business fares are the same). Also, if you like to collect airline miles or gain elite status with the airlines, the booking code can affect the number of qualifying points you receive. We did a bit of research on this and will refer you to three websites that will contain more information on this topic. www.flyertalk.com has forums and and bits of information on frequent flyer programs and airline ticket issues. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ will allow you to search for "seat availability" (look for the little button on the opening webpage titled "more options") -- it gives a bit more information but not as much as you would probably like. And the ITA website is a bit clunky -- you have to click on a particular flight and then click on the "booking details" to get the information on the booking code. It seems the best option is www.expertflyer.com -- this site has everything. BUT, you have to pay to use it (about $9.99 U.S. per month, less if you buy a yearly subscription). And if you want to see how many miles are you flying, go to tp://gc.kls2.com.
Seat Assignments
There are two ways to think about seat assignments -- first, how to avoid the middle seat; second, how to get the best seats given your fare class. Avoiding the middle seat is best done by getting a seat assigned as soon as you purchase your ticket. If you book on line you can usually do this as part of your booking. If you cannot, then call the airline directly and ask for a seat assignment. Getting the best seat can be tricky. Generally, bulk head and exit rows are the best. For longer flights, bulk heads are usually saved for families with babies. Exit rows usually (but not always) are assigned at the airport on the day of the flight. Be wary, however, of the first exit row if there are two exit rows (one in front of the other) and be wary of the row in front of an exit row -- often these seats do not recline -- which can be very annoying if you are on a long flight (or what happened to us, on a red-eye flight). The best source we have found for seeing the configuration of a plane is www.seatguru.com. The website tries to display a plane's configuration based on the airline and type of plane.
A Word of Caution
One of the current pitfalls to booking online (even through an airline’s website) is that if an airline closes shop before you take your flight, you could lose the money you paid for the now worthless ticket. If you go through a travel agent, you usually can get your money back. But do not rely on us for the legalities of this stuff. Ask the airline, the travel agency, etc. about this.
Around the World Tickets – Buying one
Given we recently spent some time in Australia, we decided to get there and back by getting an around the world ticket. One of us purchased the ticket. The other got one on points (next paragraph). An Around the World ticket means one travels in one direction (east or west), making stops in several countries/continents. Usually, there is a limit to the number of stops one can make on a given continent. The One World Network (www.oneworld.com, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and others) offer an around the world ticket as does the Star Alliance Network (www.staralliance.com, Air Canada, United, Air New Zealand, and others). Each network prices the ticket differently – usually it is a function of time of year and distance or number of continents. There are also ways to purchase an around the world ticket through a broker (who uses different combinations of airlines). We used the One World option. Under this option all we really had to do was commit to the date and location of the first leg of the trip – all other legs were flexible and could be changed at any time – there is a restriction on the number of continents (but this is based on the price you pay). Note, if you book well in advanced (for example we booked in December for a ticket that began in January but whose most legs would occur in June) a given flight may not be available. But if you keep checking back, usually a seat that can be used with an around the world ticket opens up. Also, if you like to collect airline points -- each leg of the trip may end up being on a different class of fare and so you may not get full mileage for your trip.
Around the World Ticket – Using Airline Points
We also got an around the world ticket using points (from American Airlines). The points ticket pretty much works like a purchased ticket with one BIG exception. When you book the first leg, you must book all remaining legs. Once ticketed you can change the date and time of a flight of any given leg (without charge usually) but you CANNOT change the destination (e.g. if you are booked on a flight to Madrid – you can fly on a different flight but it has to be on the same airline and it has to land in Madrid). This is important to know because it limits flexibility and it can create some problems. If you book your flight in advance (e.g. 6 months in advance), the flights are chosen based on current schedules – if the schedule changes (which can happen if one is booking in winter but flying in summer, for example) you could end up with (a) a canceled flight or (b) a flight with a really tight connection if you have a layover. The airlines will try to accommodate such changes but you can end up with some very wacky layovers as a result. Note, even in this instance an airline would not be willing to switch a destination. For example, we were flying from Capetown to Seville with a layover in London. Because the flight from London changed we had to be put on another flight. This resulted in our having an 8 hour layover in London (before the change we were going to have a 2 hour layover).
Should you consider an around the world ticket using points? Most certainly. For many airlines the extra points needed for an around the world ticket is not significantly greater than getting a round trip ticket. For example an economy seat award between North America and Australia is 75,000 points on American Airlines. To get an around the world ticket was 100,000 points – with this type of ticket we visited Australia, South Arica, Spain, and Greece.
Around the World Ticket – helpful hints when dealing with the airline
Most airlines require you to talk to their “around the world” desk to book and ticket flights. The quality of the agents with whom you speak can very quite dramatically. Also, some are more or less creative than others. Before speaking to the agents, we suggest you go on line and figure out the various ways (and partner airlines) to get you from one destination to the next. It is good to know such things as flight numbers and times of departures and arrivals. This way you can assist a less informed or less creative agent when booking your flights.
posted by A & K | 1:00 PM
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