Some flying tips:                                                                          Back

1. Cheap Tickets: Almost everyday airlines will lower a few of their fares to rock bottom

prices to target other airlines flying to similar destinations & usually the targeted airline

will then retaliate by lowering their prices even lower. these bargains only last a few hours

so you have to be fast. Check these web sites & check them often Air-fare.com & click

(big fare cuts) & bestfares.com & click (snooze you lose) on the blue bar on left side of

screen.

Be sure to check these several times a day as prices will vary throughout the day. The hottest

air wars often occur over weekends.

2. You may be able to save money by flying into an alternative airport.

2a. Airlines are required by law to fly specific routes, some of these routes are not cost

efficient & in order to sell tickets, they must lower the price.

2b. Philadelphia is about 30 miles from Trenton, N. J. 's Mercer Airport but there is a

Train from West Trenton, not far from the airport. You may get a cheaper flight into

this airport.

2c. Don't forget the extra cost of ground transportation & added time to destination.

3.  Airlines have home airports called Hubs and you will almost always get a better deal

if you fly into one of these.

4.   Never buy someone else's unused tickets or frequent flyer miles. Not only could they

be copies or fake but the use of technology & rules for I.D., make it easy for the

airline to check.

5.   I've never done it but friends have told me that they have had friends buy them tickets

in a foreign country and then flew the return ticket on the first leg and the outward

ticket on the return flight. A fellow importer from G. B. told me he had been doing it

for a couple of years. He'd have one of the exporters in Bali buy his tickets and mail

them to him. Remember the cost of a flight from Indonesia to London is way lower

then the other way around. I'm not sure of the legality of this. See connecting flights

6.   Book well in advance. The airlines will usually give you a discount for this.

7.   Stay over a Saturday night & Fly during the week - The same applies

8.   Fly either early in the morning or late at night (Not prime time) - the same applies

9.   Jump plane. The airlines frown on this and it can only be used with carry on luggage

and only on a one way flight. The cost of flying N. Y. to Puerto Rico with a stop in

Miami is less expensive then one to Miami. So you buy the Ticket to Puerto Rico and

disembark in Miami.

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Using your frequent Flyer Miles:

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These tips come from Peter Greenberg (National Geographic Traveler) editor-at-large.

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Anyone who has tried to redeem frequent-flyer miles knows that airlines are reluctant to

displace revenue passengers and give away free tickets. What to do?

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1.   Think alternative airport. In the New York area, consider Newark, Stewart (an hour

north of Manhattan). or Islip, not just Kennedy or LaGuardia, In Chicago, Midway is an

alternative to O'hare. Instead of Denver: Colorado Springs. Also, be flexible with your dates.

2.   Make airline partnerships work for you. For example, want to use frequent-flyer miles

on American? Well if American says it has no more award seats available, then call it's

code share- and mileage partner - Iberia (remember, it's the same plane, but potentially

offers different availability and inventory). If there is availability, the partner airline may

release a seat so you can redeem your award. The same works for United/Lufthansa and

other partnerships.

3.   Forget the "Free" airline ticket. Get stuff instead. For instance, the AOL AAdvantage

program will let you use miles to buy everything from free time on America Online to

books and magazines. Want a new Palm VII? It'll cost you 81,750 miles. Milepoint.com

allows online shoppers to trade miles for discounts and gifts from retailers such as Amazon.com.

Some other ideas:

l. Have your hotel pack a meal for your flight. (If your like me you probably won't enjoy

the airline meals plus a lot of airlines are doing away with meals on shorter flights.

1a. Stop at a deli on your way to the airport and pick out something you like.

1b. Pack your own meal before you leave home.

1c. SkyMeals is a company which supplies gourmet meals to your flight.