Airline competition has always been intense, but there are more and more resources available today that allow travelers to quickly compare fares without relying on travel agents. Here are a few of the strategies savvy travelers use.
First, start with the major airfare search engines to get a base idea of the lowest rates for your trip. www.qixo.com , www.orbitz.com, and quickfares.bestfares.com will do the job. Next, youll need to cover the individual airlines that arent covered by these engines. Southwest is one of these, so check www.southwest.com .
Your next step should be to check the airlines website for the lowest fare that youve found from the search engines. Before you do, make sure the fare that youve gotten includes all taxes and other fees. Often you can save a little by going direct to the airlines website.
Your ability to find the cheapest fares will depend greatly on your degree of flexibility in departure and return dates, and amount of time ahead of the trip that you start looking. With the number of routes being reduced by the airlines in order to fly at high as capacity as possible, its even more important to plan in advance these...