Saving money on airline tickets

June 7, 2009 – 10:28 am – No Comment

It’s summer time and a lot of us are going to start looking at taking trips. While most of the trips we go on are taken in the car, there are so many people who don’t live close enough to “vacation locations” to drive and now that money is tight, it is more difficult to save money when traveling.

Well, I say, don’t fear airline prices. Right now trips to Europe are really cheap, especially if you live near an airport with direct flights.

It’s not only abroad where you’ll find good deals on airline tickets. You can also find good deals through the continental U.S. Something I found out recently is that Southwest flies directly to Orlando, Florida. I always check prices on Southwest’s website or JetBlue’s websites before I check the travel websites like Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, or Travelocity. Southwest and JetBlue are typically cheaper and more friendly in my opinion than the airlines that you can find on other travel websites.

The best way to save money on travel is to book well in advance. I was checking prices on a flight that was set for a Wednesday and it jumped 50% in two days (this was on one of the travel websites I mentioned earlier and not Southwest or Jet Blue). In this case, the more “in advance” you know that you’re going the better off your wallet will be.

You can’t always rely on the travel websites either! You need to check with each individual airline. Most of the time the price is the same, so you have to ask yourself if you would rather book from a third party like Orbitz or go directly with the airline? I feel more safe booking through the airline because I feel like if something were to go wrong, it would be easier to deal with the airline then through the third party website.

When booking your flight you also need to remember which airlines charge for checked bags. I know that Southwest and JetBlue do not charge for the first checked bag in coach class, but other airlines do. This was news to me when I had to book a flight and ended up taking U.S. Airways because of the proximity to the airport I was arriving at. All airlines charge for bags that weigh over 50 lbs and they typically have bag size requirements also. So if you’re traveling with another person, you can save some money on the baggage fee, but make sure that you check your airline’s website to make sure that your bag fits in the limits!

Happy vacation!