How to Find Cheap Air Fares

Finding cheap air fares during an economic crisis and with the tourism market down can be hard. Some major airlines have slashed fees and prices to sell empty seats to avoid bankruptcy, yet others have increased them to compensate for the rising costs of oil and fuel. While the time of cheap travel is all but over, there are ways to find cheap air fare.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Computer Internet access
Computer
Internet access

Step 1

Use an aggregator site. The aggregator sites like Qixo, Kayak, Mobissimo and SideStep search through many search engines as well as airline sites themselves. Budget airlines that have most economical fares do not do business with consolidators like Travelocity or Orbitz.

Step 2

Bid for cheap airfare. Sites like Priceline.com offer cheap airfare by using a name-your-own-price function, while SkyAuction.com takes bids the eBay way. Hotwire.com has a different twist on the bidding game; you enter your destination information and it will produce a cheap air fare.

Step 3

Sign up for price alerts from the airlines or online airfare brokers. By signing up for alerts, you will receive an email notice when airfare rates are low. You also can register for emails from sites that monitor prices for destination trips and send you alerts when they drop.

Step 4

Go with the standby method. Airlines sell vacant seats at the last minute, causing some of the cheapest prices around. Traveling this way means you have to be ready to travel with very little notice when a seat becomes available.

Resources

Article Written By Joyce Kelley-Ellis

Based in Tallahassee, Fla., Joyce Ellis attended Chipola Junior College where she received a degree in criminology. She has been writer for 15 years, writing professionally at several different venues, in print and online. Her articles appear on Examiner.com and eHow.

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