New Handout

I created a new handout (below) to use as a focal point for our meeting on June "Airfare Bargains". I've also posted this document to our homepage as a "File" so it can be used for future reference. I'd appreciate your comments and suggestions on the topic.

Finding Airfare Bargains 2008

Finding airfare bargains is going to be more difficult this year. The rising fuel costs, sinking U S Dollar and airline bankruptcies are proving to be a lethal combination for lower cost airfares. Looking for an early fall flight from San Francisco to London one could reasonably expect to find a fare between $500-$600 in the past couple of years. This year the cheapest to be found is over $800. Oh well its only May maybe things will improve.

General Practices
I always start my search at smartertravel.com whether I’m flying domestically or overseas. I use Smarter Travel because you can enter the home airport, destination and the appropriate dates, going and returning, and have access to at least 20 major search engines. I always use Kayak, often use Hotwire and play the rest by ear.

Domestic Flights
After checking out smartertravel.com on which I usually check Kayak, Hotwire, Virgin America and Jetblue I go directly to Southwest Airlines. If you qualify for Southwest Airlines “senior “ rates, it beats anything else around and their “special” and “internet” fares are pretty good also. The other thing I do is check airfarewatchdog.com every Wednesday for major deals and review the top 20 from travelzoo.com for airfare deals each week.

Overseas Flights
On smartertravel.com I usually use Kayak, Hotwire, Mobissimo and Vayama for overseas flights. I then go to Momondo.com a site recommended by Frommer. I also use both Airfare Watchdog and Travel Zoo as with domestic flights.

Alternative Airports
You can often get a better deal by flying into Newark (NJ) rather than JFK in New York or Chadwick rather than Heathrow in London. So you enter the generic code in the destination not the specific airport code. So NYC means all airports around New York City and LON means all airports around London. Don’t know what these codes are? check alternateairports.com

Flexible Search
Everybody should know that the price of the same flight on different days of the week can vary significantly, i.e. SF to NYC costs $80 more each way if you leave and return on a Monday as opposed to a Wednesday. Some search engines like Kayak can make a “flexible” search checking dates around the dates you have chosen, for better price. (Kayak requires you register with them to use this feature).





Creating Your Own Hub
There are certain routes that seem to always have bargains and other routes that never have bargains. I may go to Vancouver in August; flying into Vancouver is expensive (from SF over $500 rt). But I can get a bargain Southwest flight from Sacramento ($68 each way) to Seattle and catch Amtrak to Vancouver from there for another $28 each way. In Europe it can be even more important using, London or Frankfurt, or other cities, as a bargain destination then using Ryan Air, Easy Jet or another low-cost airline to cheaply get to your final destination (use whichbudget.com to find who flies where for budget airlines).

Traveling Lights
It’s important now and will be even be more important in the future. We all have to pack and travel light. Airlines have always charged more for excess baggage but what is excess is being radically redefined downward. The day when that second checked bag will cost us dearly is rapidly approaching.

Other Modes of Transport
The China trip woke me up to train travel. Even though Amtrak is a bad joke, in many parts of the world trains are reasonably priced, fast and comfortable ways of getting around. If you’re going to Europe or parts of Asia check them out.