A struggling global economy is challenging for consumers, but it's also difficult for those industries who may depend more on discretionary spending, such as the airline industry. A recent article in Business Insider estimated the world's airlines will lose $9 billion in revenue in 2009.
But, as the saying goes, one man's feast is another's famine. Low-cost airlines still exist but even the major operators are being forced to compete in a new way, and today's savvy travelers are capturing money-saving deals by following a few simple guidelines.
It's a competitive market out there but a few airlines have built their business on low-cost airfare. For travel on the East Coast, try Air Tran. Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines are consistently adding cities to their routes. Spirit Airlines and USA 3000 fly from the East Coast to Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. Midwest Express is known for comfortable flights and competitive fares throughout the Midwest. If you plan to travel in Europe, RyanAir offers competitive fares throughout the continent.
Airline aggregators and consolidators bring together suppliers from many different sources such as airlines, online agents and tour operators, to get the best deals. Some of the more popular sites include cheapflights.com, discountflights.com and kayak.com. Be sure to shop around, be as flexible as possible and be ready to buy when you come across a good deal. It may not be available in an hour.
You've checked the online agents, shopped the consolidators but sometimes the best deals can be found on the airline websites themselves. Register with the airline sites to get weekly email alerts on special getaway fares and promotions. Deals are especially prevalent when booking flight and hotel packages. For more savings, try to fly during the week and consider going into a smaller regional airport, such as John Wayne Airport in Orange County, rather than LAX, for example.
Hospitality.net, says approximately 30 percent of travelers book their trips using an online agency such as Priceline, Travelocity or Orbitz. Additionally, the younger the traveler, the more likely he is to book travel directly with online agent. Fans of these sites tout the convenience and ease of doing research for upcoming trips. Budget travelers will want to pay close attention to the weekly specials and promotions. Airline suppliers work very closely with these sites to push certain flights and promotions, so if you are flexible, you can find a good deal.
You need a vacation, but maybe you don't have time to spend hours on the web searching for those bargains. There's a website that can help you. Go to www.airfarewatchdog.com, enter your email address and home airport, and the site will alert you when great fares pop up.
Are you traveling during high season? Are you worried fares will drop right after you purchase your ticket? Sites such as Bing and Yapta can help take some of the guesswork out of airline deals.
Bing.com features Farecast, which uses historical data to forecast demand for flights and price fluctuations. With Yapta, you will receive email alerts on preferred flights, hotel rates and even when the price of your ticket drops below what you have paid. Yapta will let you know when you are due a refund.
