1) Time of day does not matter when purchasing your ticket(s)
2) Airfare rates change daily
3) Airfares increase at the end of each week
4) Lowest airfares are NOT necessarily on the low-fare airlines (i.e. Southwest, Jet Blue,
etc.)
5) If you can, try and purchase your tickets 3-4 months in advance
6) Best travel days are Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday's
7) Best time to purchase your tickets is either on a Monday or Tuesday
8) Sometimes First Class prices can be as low as coach prices - so don't be afraid to
check out these prices when searching for your
ticket prices. There are usually
over 100,000 first class tickets that have been disounted at any given time.
9) Also, on-time leaving does not mean you are in the air and on your
way! It only means you are away from the boarding gate!
10) Go to Farecompare.com to compare your airfare
with others.
11) If you are worried that your luggage may not arrive when you do?? Think about shipping your luggage door-to-door! Check out
Luggage Free,
First Luggage, or
Carry My Luggage
12) Sign up for free airfare e-mail alerts as soon as you can.
Travelocity has one that is great!
13) Before you purchase your tickets, do a search for the worst airports to fly out of.
14) Now that you are armed with these tips, go out and purchase your tickets and have fun during the summer!
ON-LINE AIRFARE INFO
There are a total of 21 links on this page for cheap airfares as well as other information.
Ms Emily Burns P2001, said she found cheaper flying rates within Europe by this web site then purchasing a Eurail Pass.
Mr Robert Daniels, a former student, stated that this is an awesome website re intercontinental flights on how to get the lowest fare. They have great rates on "Afgan Airlines"
Best Fares Travel Magazine
"This site is great, but requires an annual membership fee of about $60, to get full access to the site. But you still can check out the abbreviated deals. If several people go in together on a subscription, the results may be worth it. Mainly consolidates all the current specials from different airlines."
1 Travel
Use this one if you do not care which airline you fly. FYI: This can be a slow site to come up.
STA Travel
STA is a student travel services organization. You can pick up your Eurorail passes, student airfares, International Student I.D. Card, Insurance, and much much more. (if you just need the International Student I.D. Card, then you can go to USD's University Center Box Office to purchase this card) STA offices are located at 953 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach CA; 858-270-6401; or SDSU Aztec Center, 619-594-4589. (call to get specific directions) or if outside California 1-800-781-4040 or visit their web site above.
Travel Abroad - Student Universe
This site is an online travel agency. The site specializes in discounted air travel for students, which negotiates exclusively on students behalf.
Comprehensive online resource for study abroad, internships, etc.
Low Cost Airline Info
This site lists 15 no-frills airlines operating in North America, 34 in Europe and 5 in Asia. No-frills means no-frills! No free meals, no seat assignments, no refunds of any type and certainly no frequent-flyer points. But heck, if it get's you from here to there and saves you a few hundred dollars, why not!*
Also, if you are allergic to cats, Cheapseats.com has done a study and these are the airlines that allow cats to travel in the passenger section: AirTran, Alaska, American West, American, ATA, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, Jet-Blue, Northwest, Spirit, United & US Airways. But do not count on them to tell you if there are going to be cats in the passenger section.*
Those airlines that do not allow cats in the passenger section are Aloha (except for travel within Hawaii), Frontier, Midwest, Southwest and Sun Country. *
You should inform the airline that does allow cats in the passenger section that you are highly allergic and to seat you far, far away when you make your reservations and also when you check-in!*
If you wish to travel by air in Europe while there, here are a few web sites for European travel that you may be able to purchase tickets before you leave the U.S. or have them delivered to an address in the UK or Europe for your pick up.
Airlinestickets.us
scroll down to the bottom of this link for a listing of various airlines with special deals.
The following are also some phone #'s in London for possible cheap tickets to Europe:
The Wholesalers - 0990-22-44-66
The Flight Index - 0800-496-5424
Cost Cutters - 0800-496-5565
Dial a Deal - 0800-496-5969
SeatSavers - 0800-496-5646
* from Int'l Travel News Magazine (ITN)