George Wood asked:


IATA (International Air Transport Association) conducts all international flights and almost all international airlines (94%) operate under this association. The pricing structure and all other decisions associated with an international flight are made by the IATA. They do not normally give permission to international airlines to lower their rates if other airlines are offering regular airfares. However, they do sometimes allow consolidators to buy airline tickets in bulk at low price and sell them off to travelers.

If you are searching for cheap airfares online, you will come across many websites offering national as well as international packages. These sites are composed of Mega Online agencies and B&M Travel agencies. Other sites are composed of travel consolidators who specialize in providing the best possible deals to their customers. You will find out that these sites have different international policies because of the fact that international airfares are mainly handled by the IATA.

Airline Consolidator is a place where you will be able to find cheap international and domestic flights to many locations across the globe. Whether you are flying to Asia, Europe, Indian sub-continent or Africa, you will be able to locate an inexpensive flight and save up to 70% of your airfare. If you buy tickets directly from airlines, they will also tell you that this is the lowest possible rate any airline can offer. However, searching on these online resources you will find still cheaper airfares. Fareline International is another popular name under this category. They specialize in selling international airfares to Europe and Asia.

While purchasing online it is recommended that you ask for the total cost of a ticket. Sometimes they list only the airfare exclusive of hidden charges. Some companies do not have additional charges if someone is paying by credit card. You will have to be careful in selecting your package depending on all these factors and other considerations. All requests made through e-mail are answered within 24 hours. Remember that the tickets sold by consolidators are sometimes restricted. This means that if you want to change your travel plans you will be given a penalty because they have to book flights in order to give all passengers the quoted price. Regular airfares allow you to travel more flexibly because they allow you to change your travel plans anytime. Of course, in the latter case you have to pay more.

If you cant find an international flight on any of these websites, you can call a travel expert and ask for advice. Sometimes airline names are not mentioned on consolidator websites. They will e-mail you all the details once you have purchased their package. This does not mean that their system is faulty; they have contracts with airlines which state that they cannot mention the airline names publicly. Mostly these airlines are the most popular international airlines of a country. Booking online sometimes help to save up to 40% of already cheap airfare. Sometimes you are not given a physical ticket; instead you will be receiving an e-ticket or a confirmation number and some other details that you will be able to use at the airport to get into the plane.

When you are buying international tickets from consolidators, it is your own responsibility to ensure that all your travel documents (passports and visas) are complete and legal. Read all instructions and company policies before buying your tickets or packages. They will not be responsible for any mishaps or loss of tickets once you have received your tickets. You will have to buy another package in such a case. Being careful in all these matters will help you travel wisely and without any major difficulty, and most of all travel affordably.



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Stephen Campbell asked:


On the Internet, you can get information on the best way to get cheap airfare. Apart from airfare websites, you can get to read up articles on the tricks of getting cheap airfare on the Internet. Finding cheap airfare is actually a skill that must be perfected.

You cannot save costs on airfare if you fail to plan your trip properly. Proper planning can help you identify cheap airfare opportunities. Planning your air trip enables you to pick out the perfect time for you to travel and save costs on air travel in the process. Remember always to consult or make use of air travel information and resources that can be found everywhere– most especially online– because this can effectively help you to establish a better travel plan.

A lot of fare tariffs usually have a thirty-day maximum stay restriction. To save costs, pay for a ticket that indicates that you will be staying less than thirty days. If you stay more than thirty days in your destined area, your ticket will cost more. There are other conditions and programs imposed by airline companies which can bring substantial benefits for you. So, try to explore every opportunity they give.

If you do not have a flexible traveling schedule, you may not get cheap airfare because you wont be able to change reservations when you are on a strict timetable. A little bit of flexibility in your travel schedule will ensure that you get the best of flight rates.

There are websites that contains valuable cheap airfare information. You can get cheap airfare information with regards to international airfare from some websites that specialize only in international travel. There are also websites for domestic travel information seekers.

In searching the Internet for cheap airfare, you should be skeptical about any ridiculously cheap airfare. Airfares below a hundred dollars are usually round trip tickets. Make sure that you call up any airline offering cheap airfare on their websites to confirm it.

If you are looking for ways to get a cheap air flight, try breaking your journey into two. Flights that are divided into two or more stops are usually less expensive than one-way flights. You can save a lot of money by breaking up your flight journey into several stops.

Blogs can make a delightful source of cheap airfare information. People looking to spill their guts on the best cheap airfare buy have blogs that can be of great help. You can get yourself a blog and share your tricks for getting cheap airfare with other people.



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Dan Farrell asked:


The Cheaper Way to Get Away

All people need a break, to reconnect with the spouse, to reward the kids, to restore the soul. But planning a holiday getaway can quickly turn into a stressful venture when the subject of costs comes up. Airfare by itself can kill the reverie. And when people already factor in accommodations, food, and shopping, any budget-conscious mother would just give up and stay home.

Thankfully, there are now more options for quick and fun vacations without having exhorbitant air fares.

Cheap Airfare

So, how does low-cost or cheap air fare work exactly’ Simple: Budget air travel gets you to your destination in the shortest time and at the cheapest possible price.

The main reason these airlines are able to keep airfare prices low is the no-frills precept. First, there’s no ticketing office to sustain. All reservations and purchases are transacted online. Through e-ticketing, tickets can be purchased on the Web, which eliminates the need to employ more people for processing or maintain international offices.

However, people can still avail of cheaper airfares even if they don’t want to take chances with budget air travel.

Here’s how:

1. Purchasing the airline ticket at least 10 days ahead of the scheduled trip will enable the individual to get super low fares.

2. It is best to choose a weekday departure and arrival date when possible. This is because weekend flights get filled up faster than weekdays and airlines many times tender discounts to fill up the weekday flights.

3. It would be better to book as a group of three or more to get even more discounts on fees.

4. People compare notes with and consult their friends and colleagues who have recently traveled.

5. In order to get the cheap airfares, people have to be on the lookout for discounted rates on the Internet. Most of the cheap airfares are available online.

6. It is best to shop around for the cheap airfare first before you jump on the first deal you see. This is because there are airlines that may offer cheap airfares but the quality of service is entirely bad. Most airlines with cheap airfares have low quality of service and lacking the ordinary amenities.

All of these factors boil down to the fact that low-cost airlines may help people to extend their vacation and make it more memorable. They just have to shop around to get those that offer cheap airfare but the quality of service is not taken for granted.

Besides the major airfare portal sites like, Orbitz, Travelocity And Expedia, you should check out airlines that they don’t include, namely Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and other discount airlines. After finding a low cost airfare at the time’s you want, call the airline directly and see if they can do better. Many times, the airlines have empty seats or unannounced specials not online.



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Steven Liew asked:


If you are a youth and want cheap air travel, you should exploit at least the status fares in the airline industry.

Just like other so-called status fares in the airline industry, student airfares are one way of getting a cheaper ticket airfare in the industry.

Typically, student airfares apply to student travellers under the age of 26 who are still enrolled in school.

This is one avenue of cheap air travel especially for youths. For the airlines, they could offer such cheap air travel discounts without worrying that they would be abused by other passengers looking for alternative way out to pay the normal high-published airfares in the industry, given the restrictions on age and student identification.

Apart from the discounts which could be 20%-30% cheaper, student airfares are also generally far more flexible than regular airfare tickets.

Still, if you are looking for cheap air travel tickets via this route, note that student or youth airfares tickets may not typically be available from your regular travel agents.

This is because such student fares are not usually included in the computerised reservation systems (CRS) used by the airlines.

As such, it is easier for you to search for such airfare options from those specialised travel agencies that deal only in student airfare markets.

Remember that not all airlines offer student fares as a cheaper air travel option, and also that their rules and requirements varies from one another.

The most important requirement is normally proof of age (identity card or driving license) and also that you must be holding a current and valid International Student Identify Card (ISIC) at the time of ticketing and when travelling on a student airfare ticket.

Further note that student airfares will not necessarily be the cheapest airfares option that you can find even if you as a student can take advantage of it.

Nonetheless, for a cheaper air travel alternative, they will still beat the usual regular published airfares hands down.

However, if you are looking at cheap air travel options for international travel, you may find that consolidator airfares are often cheaper than student airfares, especially to a country serviced by ethnic-based travel agencies.

Further, there are less student airfare options than consolidator tickets, and the airlines are less likely to offer cheaper student airfares if they can sell them already under the radar as consolidator fares.

If you are picky and a real cheap air travel fan, then note all the alternatives above.

For the airlines, to offer student airfares is good publicity gimmick at the least and also a way to at least sell these status fares at whatever higher fare they could.

Further, much of students travel is non-discretionary and also time-limited and predictable or in other words around their holiday semester break.

Some of these periods like during the year-end and summer period are high-demand period (you won’t get other cheap air travel tickets options much during these times also) and as such, airlines are not likely to be too generous on discounted fares then.

Further, some thinking in the industry is that nice parents are more likely happy to pay higher airfares for their little darling children to go for their holiday breaks.

All the above reasons partly explain why the market for discounted student airfares are served mainly by travel agency specialists who use techniques such as bulk buying, charters and even consolidator tickets itself for such cheap air travel fares.

Still, for a cheaper air travel bill, student airfares are excellent value on their own although you should still compare their fares with other types of cheap air travel options for the reasons given above.

Here are some specialised places that you could start your student airfare searching and research from.These sites list special discounts and deals that are limited mostly to student airfares only.

It is possible also to locate student airfares that are discounted directly through the airline, or through a travel agent, but as mentioned earlier, the ones that are devoted solely to student airfares will often give you a lot more cheap air travel options on this aspect.

Further, if as student and you are thinking of travelling to Europe or other holiday breaks places for the summer, or for a full semester, or for just spring break, these specialised student airfare sites often offer great cheap air travel deals on such itineraries.

These specialised student airfare sites also have automated booking and ticketing of student and youth fares on their site and are a good place to start your search from.

Alternatively, you can search more of these cheap student air travel options through the Internet search engines:

a) Council Travel (www.counciltravel.com) - This is the travel agency division of the Council on International Education and Exchange (www.ciee.org) and has long been the largest student travel specialist in the United States.

College students will find here the biggest cheap air travel bargains on international carriers, which typically offer student fares to Europe on a standby basis. If you’re under 26, you can also take advantage of low-fare charter and consolidator flights that are made available by CIEE.

b) STA Travel (www.sta.com) - This is one of the world’s largest student, youth and budget travel organisation. STA Travel specialises in cheap student airfares, hotels and hostels, student travel insurance and international student identification cards and you are likely to find a host of options here and their affiliated agencies.

c) Student Universe (www.studentuniverse.com) - Student Universe is an online private travel service that specialises in students airfares. By negotiating with the major airlines on their behalf, Student Universe is able to provide students with exclusive and significantly cheap air travel fares catering to them.

At the end of the day, remember that irregardless of which cheap air travel options you choose, always compare prices between sites and their requirements before deciding on the final choice.



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