Tagged: airfares

The Rules for Planning an Affordable, Fun Spring Break in 2020

The breaking travel news right now? That would be spring break, which is just around the corner. And then around the corner again. And again. That’s because this popular holiday period…

The Top Travel Trends for 2020

What are the trends that will affect your 2020 vacation? In many ways, they are evolutions of ones that affected travel in 2019, so I strongly encourage you to read last year’s…

The Trends That Will Shape Travel in 2019

This past year’s biggest travel trends—the rise in solo female travel and solo travel in general, the new emphasis on green travel, the development of cannabis holidays, an uptick in…

The Case of the Missing Gift Certificate: Flying in the Age of Monopolies

An airplane aisle separated the haves from the have nots. I’m not writing about the aisle separating business class and economy. No, in this case, the left-side of the plane, on a six…

The Travel Trends That Will Shape Your Next Vacation

Spin the globe: Where will you go in 2017? And just as importantly, what recent developments and coming events will shape your trip? It's prediction time again, so I spoke with nine…

A True "Wow" in Airfares to Iceland

Looks like the American takeover of Iceland is continuing apace.In 2016 alone 325,000 Americans have made their way to this land of geysers, massive waterfalls, fermented shark…

Priceline Ditches Its "Name Your Own Price" Program for Airfares. What's the Real Meaning of This Move for Consumers?

When Priceline launched its “Name Your Own Price” feature for airfare some 15 years ago, the effect was electric. A major company had pulled back the curtain, letting the public in…

Not as a Hypothetical Prediction, But in Disturbing Reality, the Surviving Big Airlines of America are now Acting like Classic Monopolies

When, through mergers and acquisitions, the big airlines of America were reduced to four (Delta, United, American, and Southwest), such critics like me complained that…

Beware! A New Airfare Gotcha Penalizes Travelers on Multi-Stop Itineraries

TimDorr/FlickrThe majority of travelers buy non-refundable airfares for a simple reason: They're vastly less expensive than refundable fares. But those who try to book…

A Major Study Is Out And What It Says About Trends In Airfares Could Save You Big Bucks

For aviation geeks (like me), the day that the Airline Reporting Corporation releases its annual survey of airfares feels like a birthday—one on which you don’t get any older. And…

Counting Down the Top 6 Travel Stories of 2015—And Looking Ahead to 2016

(Photo by Zach Dischner/Flickr)Unusually dramatic events and trends shaped the way we traveled in 2015 and should continue to impact our wanderings in 2016. Counting them down,…

25.3 Million People Will Fly Over Thanksgiving: 10 Airport Strategies If You're Going to Be One of Them

The industry group Airlines for America is predicting that 65,000 more people PER DAY will fly this year than last, between November 20 and December 1. That's an uptick of 3%, and…

Have Airlines Deliberately Made Flying Uncomfortable in Order to Collect Extra Fees?

Fees for "priority boarding" of the planes. Fees for extra legroom. Fees for wider seats. Fees for choosing seats. Fees for snacks served aboard. Fees for checking luggage.  Fees for…

Two Little-Known Upstarts—WOW Airlines of Iceland and Norwegian Air of Scandinavia—Are Currently Offering Bargain Rates for Off-Season Crossings of the Atlantic

We are about to reach the slowest days of the European off-season, which starts as we approach the month of November and continues until mid-March.  It is then that European…

The Sky Isn't Falling But Airfares Are: Air Pricing Sees the Biggest One-Month Drop in 20 Years

For months, the second most popular travel question that's been lobbed my way (after "is X, Y or Z safe?") has been: "Why, with the cost of gas so low, haven't airfares…

The Lessening of Competition Among Our Newly Giant Airlines, and the Resulting Increase in Airfares, is a Troubling Situation That Might Require Legislative Action

Over the past twenty years, as one U.S. airline merged with another, reducing the number of major carriers to exactly four (United, American, Delta, and Southwest), we were…

On the Eve of What Will Undoubtedly be a Record-Breaking Summer Travel Season, Here Are Some Europe-Related Observations

We are on the brink of the summer travel season, best known as the Summer of the Strong Dollar.  For the first time in many years, American vacationers are enjoying an…

Airfares to Asia Dropping Below Those to Europe In Many Cases, and From the East Coast, No Less

When is a sale not a sale? When it actually just reflects the going rates, but in a, well, louder fashion.That's seems to be the case with Emirate Airlines current "deal" to Kuala…

Is Last Minute, Spontaneous Travel Now a Thing of the Past? Yes....And No

It’s been a good several years since the airlines offered regular last-minute deals. According to a study of 180 million ticket sales by the Airline Reporting Corporation (the…

Sundays Replace Tuesday As the Day to Book Airfares, and More Savvy Advice From An Expert Source

You may have never heard of the Airline Reporting Corporation but you've likely purchased a ticket it has had its "virtual fringerprints" on it. That's because the ARC serves as…

There Seems No End to Constantly Increasing Airfares, And Your Recourse is to Lower Your Costs of Accommodations and Meals at the Destination

About a year ago, it became apparent that Southwest Airlines was no longer a source of consistently cheap airfares (though often the cheapest).  On numerous routes on…

To La Dolce Vita! Airfares from the US to Italy Just $438 in April and May

Thanks to the Points Guy for spotting this excellent bargain. It seems that, on a number of dates this spring, airfares from New York's JFK to Milan are being prices at as little…

Bye, Bye Bereavement Fares: American Airlines Announces It's Ditching That Program Ahead Of Its Union With US Airways

In a move that can be seens as either sensible or callous, American Airlines announced last week that it would be adopting the policies of its soon-to-be partner airline US Airways,…

Delta's Big Announcement: Mileage Awards Will Soon Be Tied to Money Spent Rather Than Miles Flown

Delta Airlines announced a game-changing move today: instead of giving award miles based on the number of miles a passenger has flown, it will link mileage to the cost of the ticket.…

When's the Best Time to Book Airfares? A Major Search Engine Comes Out With Some Very Specific, And Helpful, Advice

It's one of the most asked questions in travel: When should I book my airline ticket? According to the mega-airline search site Kayak there's no one simple answer. Or perhaps I…