My Secrets to Airline Travel, Part I

I introduce you today to my secrets to airline travel, part I. I would like to let you in on some of the great ways I have learned to get incredible deals on airline flights. I am an avid traveler, and have been flying since I was a child. I have booked numerous flights every year for the past fifteen years plus, finding new ways to save each time. I have stopped going through travel agents, because I generally have always been able to find better deals myself. I am a travel agent at heart, and my friends and family come to me to help them book airline travel because of my past track record with saving time and money. I would like to share my experience with you, to help you find ways to save on airline costs....

1. Book directly with the airline instead of through a discount website such as Orbitz or Travelocity. The best deals can be found with the airline itself, instead of on the discount website. The main reason for this is that even if you find the same price ticket, you will have to pay a fee to use the discount website. Their fee may only be $10 or $20, but it still adds to the cost of your flight. The next reason is that it will generally cost you more to change your reservation if the case need be. For instance, if you book a ticket through Southwest Airlines directly, you will not have to pay to change the dates and/or times. (You only pay if there is a difference in fare.) If you had booked that same ticket through Orbitz or somewhere, you would have to pay a fee to change the reservation. Also, you may be able to find special deals that are not accessible through the discount website, but are only found on the airline's website.

This is not to say that you shouldn't make use of the discount websites, however. You can use them to get a general idea of what airlines fly to your destination. For instance, if you want to fly from Orlando to New York, you can punch this information in on Orbitz. Orbitz will pull up different airlines and flights to get you to New York from Orlando. You can then use this information to know what airlines' websites to visit.