Passengers within the same airplane cabin are rarely paying the same fare. Business travelers who need to purchase tickets at the last minute, change their itinerary at a moment's notice, or get home for the weekend pay the premium rate. Passengers who can book their ticket long in advance, who can stay over Saturday night, or who are willing to travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday after 7pm, will pay a fraction of the full fare. On many flights, even the shortest hops, the full fare is close to $1,000 or more, while a 7- or 14-day advance purchase ticket may cost less than half that amount. Here are a few other easy ways to save.
Airlines periodically lower prices on their most popular routes. Check the travel section of your Sunday newspaper for advertised discounts or call the airlines directly and ask if any promotional rates or special fares are available. You'll almost never see a sale during the peak summer vacation months of July and August, or during the Thanksgiving or Christmas seasons; but in periods of low-volume travel, you should pay no more than $400 for a domestic cross-country flight. If your schedule is flexible, say so, and ask if you can secure a cheaper fare by staying an extra day, by flying midweek, or by flying at less-trafficked hours. If you already hold a ticket when a sale breaks, it may even pay to exchange your ticket, which usually incurs a $100 to $150 charge.
Note: The lowest-priced fares are often nonrefundable, require advance purchase of 1 to 3 weeks and a certain length of stay, and carry penalties for changing dates of travel.
Consolidators, also known as bucket shops, are a good place to find low fares. Consolidators buy seats in bulk from the airlines and then sell them back to the public at prices usually below even the airlines' discounted rates. Their small ads usually run in Sunday newspaper travel sections or in alternative weekly papers around the country, such as the Village Voice in New York City. And before you pay, request a confirmation number from the consolidator and then call the airline to confirm your seat. Be aware that bucket shop tickets are usually nonrefundable or rigged with stiff cancellation penalties, often as high as 50% to 75% of the ticket price. Protect yourself by paying with a credit card rather than cash. Keep in mind that if there's an airline sale going on, or if it's high season, you can often get the same or better rates by contacting the airlines directly, so do some comparison-shopping before you buy. Also check out the name of the airline; you may not want to fly on some obscure Third World airline, even if you're saving $10. And check whether you're flying on a charter or a scheduled airline; the latter is more expensive but more reliable.
Council Travel (tel. 800/226-8624; www.counciltravel.com) and STA Travel (tel. 800/781-4040; www.sta.travel.com) cater especially to young travelers, but their bargain-basement prices are available to people of all ages. The TravelHub (tel. 888/AIR-FARE; www.travelhub.com) represents nearly 1,000 travel agencies, many of whom offer consolidator and discount fares. Other reliable consolidators include 1-800-FLY-CHEAP (www.1800flycheap.com); TFI Tours International (tel. 800-745-8000 or 212/736-1140; www.lowestprice.com), which serves as a clearinghouse for unused seats; or "rebators" such as Travel Avenue (tel. 800/333-3335; www.travelavenue.com) and the Smart Traveller (tel. 800/448-3338 in the U.S. or 305/448-3338), which rebate part of their commissions to you. Some consolidators specialize in one part of the world, such as Asia, Europe, the Americas, etc. Concentrate on these once you have your particular destination in mind.
Search the Internet for cheap fares. Great last-minute deals are available through free weekly e-mail services provided directly by the airlines, which you can sign up for easily on individual Web sites. The best time to look for airline specials is from about 1 AM on Wednesdays, since many airlines post their new bargains beginning at around midnight on Tuesdays. Many of these are for the following weekend but some are for periods of time further down the pike.
Book a seat on a charter flight. Discounted fares have pared the number available, but they can still be found to many destinations. Most charter operators advertise and sell their seats through travel agents, thus making these local professionals your best source of information for available flights. Before deciding to take a charter flight, however, check the restrictions on the ticket: You may be asked to purchase a tour package, to pay in advance, to be amenable if the day of departure is changed, to pay a service charge, to fly on an airline you're not familiar with (this usually is not the case), and to pay harsh penalties if you cancel--but be understanding if the charter doesn't fill up and is canceled up to 10 days before departure. Summer charters fill up more quickly than others and are almost sure to fly, but if you decide on a charter flight, seriously consider buying cancellation and baggage insurance. Also be prepared for late departure hours and long airport delays, as charters usually do not have priority.
Look into courier flights--though they are usually not available on domestic flights. These companies hire couriers to hand-deliver packages or mail, and use your luggage allowance for themselves; in return, you get a deeply discounted ticket--for example, $300 round-trip to Europe in winter. Flights often become available at the last minute, so check in often. Halbart Express has offices in New York (tel. 718-656-8189), Los Angeles (tel. 310-417-9790), and Miami (tel. 305-593-0260). Jupiter Air (www.jupiterair.com) has offices in New York (tel. 718-656-6050), Los Angeles (tel. 310-670-5123), and San Francisco (tel. 650-697-1773). The drawback with these flights is that you cannot check any luggage of our own--everything you need must be in your carry-on bag.
Join a travel club such as Moment's Notice (tel. 718/234-6295; www.moments-notice.com) or Sears Discount Travel Club (tel. 800/433-9383, or 800/255-1487 to join; www.travelersadvantage.com), which supply unsold tickets at discounted prices. You pay an annual membership fee to get the club's hotline number. Of course, you're limited to what's available, so you have to be flexible.
Join frequent-flier clubs. It's best to accrue miles on one program, so you can rack up free flights and achieve elite status faster. But it makes sense to open as many accounts as possible, no matter how seldom you fly a particular airline. It's free, and you'll get the best choice of seats, faster response to phone inquiries, and prompter service if your luggage is stolen, your flight is canceled or delayed, or if you want to change your seat.