But what about airfare?

Well, air travel is expected to be  slightly lower than usual with airfare up over 21 percent when compared to last year. The increase was triggered by the higher jet fuel costs coupled with reduced capacity as airlines tried to increase profits.

But airfare has shown a 5% decrease when comparing November 2011 with December 2011 – a very good sign.

“The drop in gasoline prices, higher airfares and fewer available flights on smaller planes, and the slowly-improving economy mean more people will travel to visit family, friends and holiday destinations,” said David E. Parsons, president and CEO of AAA Carolinas.

Competing With JetBlue

When searching for the cheapest airline flights, many hopeful travelers will visit the low cost carrier websites like AirTran, Southwest, and JetBlue without even considering the major carriers. While this used to be an accepted and recommended practice, we are finding that the major carriers are now often cheaper than their low cost competitors.

One blogger explains this paradigm as follows:

“The truth is, however, that low cost airlines don’t always offer the lowest airfares. That’s because traditional airlines, which have spent the past few years in bankruptcy court slashing their own expenses, are working hard to match or undercut their low-cost rivals to profit more in the end.”

More and more travelers are turning to consolidator websites like Kayak for their airfare searches, simply because most consolidator websites search the major carriers and the low cost carriers simultaneously. By doing searches in this manner, it’s easy to see whether United or AirTran, for example, have the lowest fare for the dates selected. The Booking Buddy Website even allows you to sort the output by the number of layovers if desired.

Rather than going to a low-cost carrier website, I now recommend the all-carrier consolidator sites for your best airfares.

Recommended Reading:
“Save on Airfare Secrets is the BEST material for both casual and business air travelers – all in one place for easy access too!”
- airfare-now.com

Previous Post: You’ve Got Mail – The Cheapest Airline Fights May Be In Your Inbox

While there is no single source for the cheapest airline flights because a lot of factors affect the price, there are some time-tested strategies that can push you closer to a fair ticket price. Ticket pricing depends on your departure/destination airport, choice of airline, time of travel, current events, etc., and there is no single tool that will show you the complete picture.

I will suggest, as you look at travel websites, that you consider buying a package. Buying a hotel room with your air ticket can often save you a lot of money.

Related Posts:
3 Ways to Get the Cheapest Airline Flights as a Service Member
Cheapest Airline Flights Via Coupons and Codes
Where Can I Find the Best Last Minute Flights?
Military Members Get the Cheapest Airfare

There is nothing worse than sitting in your airplane seat and discovering that the passenger next to you paid only a fraction of what you paid for airfare. Here are the 5 simple tips to help you get the best airfare deals online.

Book Your Flight Early

It’s really a myth that you can find cheap airfare by booking last minute. The best deals on airfare are usually available when you book around 6 months before your planned departure,. This is usually when the seats are first released for purchase, and they can really disappear quickly. So if you’re wanting to get away for Christmas or New Years Eve, you should be booking those flights right now!

Don’t Be So Picky About Airports

Discount airlines often fly in to minor airports because they don’t have to pay the enormous airport fees that are charged by larger international terminals. The good news is that they pass on some of that savings to you in the form much lower airfares. You’ll also get to see some unusual and exotic regional airports!

Be A Little More Flexible

Depending on your planed destination, it’s often much cheaper to fly on either a Sunday or the middle of the week – particularly if you will arrange to stay over the weekend. Check airfare prices for dates that are a few days before or a few days after your originally planned date as it may have a big impact on your airfare.

Don’t Ever Change

Discount airfare usually comes with a laundry list or terms and conditions. Since their cancellation and change of reservation fees are so high, it’s important that you commit to the dates you have chosen and don’t even think about changing them.

Use the Kayak Search Engine

The Kayak search engine will save you a ton of time and money by shopping all of the airlines for you. You simply enter your air travel plans once and then watch Kayak produce hundreds of different airfare choices for you to pick from. BTW, while online travel agents like Expedia and Travelocity are often mistaken for flight search engines, they are not. Kayak is the real deal.

Recommended Reading:
“Save on Airfare Secrets is the BEST material for both casual and business air travelers – all in one place for easy access too!”

Vayama Offers End of Year Gift to Customers that Purchase International Airfare

Customers who Book International Airfare between December 27th and January 2nd will Receive a $50 Vayama Travel Gift Coupon

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 27, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ – Vayama.com, the online travel agency that specializes in international travel, announces today that it is giving a year end $50 travel coupon to everyone who books an international flight between December 27, 2011 and January 2, 2012 and signs up for its deals newsletter. The $50 travel voucher can be used on future international airfare purchases on Vayama.com any time from January 1, 2012 through April 30, 2012.

“On average, our customers travel internationally two to three times a year,” said Tom Kent, vice president of marketing at Vayama.com. “We are offering the End of Year promotion to our customers as a way to say thank you and to help them continue on their path of global wanderlust.”

The End of Year promotion is valid for all new round-trip international airfare bookings that originate on Vayama.com and are made between December 27, 2011 and January 2, 2012. In order to be eligible for the $50 travel coupon, customers must sign up to receive the Vayama e-newsletter. Upon validation of the booking, a confirmation email will be delivered with a $50 Promo Booking Code – promotion is limited to one Promo Code per booking and can be used any time from January 1, 2012 through April 30, 2012.

For more information on Vayama’s Year End travel coupon visit http://www.vayama.com/travel-deals/year-end-gift-50-gift-travel-certificate/.

About Vayama:

Vayama is an online travel agency uniquely focused on international travel. The company offers travelers a vast selection of flights through its online booking engine that taps into inventory not available on other online travel websites. Launched in 2007, Vayama has continued to expand its online international travel services to include features such as 24/7 customer service, premium economy and discounted hotel rates, activities and car rentals.

For regular Vayama updates, follow us at www.twitter.com/Vayama become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/VayamaTravel or visit www.Vayama.com.

About Travix International B.V.

Vayama is part of Travix International B.V., a global travel company that manages an extensive portfolio of international travel websites operating under the brands: Vayama (USA, UK & Canada), CheapTickets (Europe & Asia), Vliegwinkel.nl (Netherlands), BudgetAir (The Netherlands, United Kingdom & France), Flugladen (Germany) and EasyToBook.com (Worldwide).

Travix operates in 16 countries; employs 430 staff and has combined sales in excess of USD $1,1Billion.

SOURCE Vayama

A. According to a post on the Last Minute Flight Deals Blog,

“Travelzoo always has listings for last minute flight deals, particularly for travel in the next few days or over the next weekend. Right now. it has a nice list of last minute flight deals for Thanksgiving. In terms of getting a great deal 2 hours in advance, that would be more difficult.”

I also agree with their recommendation to try searching Kayak for lasat minute flights. I’ve had some real success with Kayak – even picked up a deal on a flight that I needed to jump on in less than two hours!!

Referenced Blogs and Related Links:
Last Minute Flight Deals

A detailed analysis of international air travel  data from the 2nd quarter indicates that the average cost of an airline ticket has decreased by approximately one percent when compared to the 1st quarter of 2012.

Comparing the quarterly data for one year revealed an even greater drop in prices – approximately 5 percent over one year.

Tags: Airfare Coupons, Airfare Codes, Hotel Coupons, Hotel Codes

Looking for a place to go? How about some offshore fishing in Key West

Southwest and AirTran have some holiday sales going on right now.  The sale is valid for travel November 16-20, November 22-23, November 27-28, December 13-20, and December 23-January 2, 2013.  You never know with airfare, but this may be the last chance to snag some tickets around the holidays at somewhat of a discount.  If you already have tickets booked with Southwest or AirTran for those dates, then check to make sure that the price hasn’t dropped, and if it has then you can ask for a credit to use on a future flight for the difference.  Head to Deals We Like for the details.
Along those lines, If you don’t yet have a Southwest Rapid Rewards account you can get up to 750 points just for signing up.  Make sure to do this for your kids before they start flying on paid tickets!

The rumors that the early scheduled flights of the new United 787s may be in jeopardy appear to now be coming to fruition.  Word on the internet is that the one-time flights from Houston to Cleveland and Houston to Dulles in November are scrapped.  Also due to a delay in getting the second 787 from Boeing, the 11/4 inaugural flights from Houston to Newark and San Francisco are also scrapped.  In theory that leaves the 11/4 inaugurals to Chicago and LA intact. Not only are the initial flights on 11/4 for some of those routes impacted, but other early flights in November are also reportedly now suspect.  Changes are expected via a schedule update as early as tonight.  Head to The Wandering Aramean and follow @airlineroute on Twitter for details.
The limited time offer on the The Business Platinum Card Amex that comes with 25,000 American Express Membership Reward points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months is set to expire on 10/29 (Monday).  This card comes with a hefty $450 annual fee, but that is dramatically offset (especially in the first year) by getting a $200 airline fee allowance each calendar year (i.e., before and after 1/1/13 for a total of $400 in the first 12 months), and airline lounge access on American, Delta, and US Airways.  A better play may be to get the limited time sign-up for the The Business Gold Rewards Amex for 50,000 MR points after spending $5,000 in three months with no annual fee for the first year, and then see if you get an offer to upgrade to the Business Platinum card.  I have been getting those for a while with my Business Gold Rewards Amex, and the upgrade also comes with 25,000 points.  Just a thought…

As long as we are talking about deadlines, the deadline to share miles for a 100% bonus on US Airways expires on 10/31.  I just took advantage of the deal yesterday and can tell you that the points post instantly.

Enjoy the weekend, and those in the path of Hurricane Sandy, be careful!