Air Travel

In general the experts recommend buying your tickets "in advance" which usually means at least 14-21 days before your flight in order to meet the advance purchase restrictions of most discounted...

In general the experts recommend buying your tickets "in advance" which usually means at least 14-21 days before your flight in order to meet the advance purchase restrictions of most discounted tickets.

For major holidays when flights tend to sell out, you'll want to start looking at fares at least several months ahead of time.

When you see a great bargain flight for your planned dates, grab it quickly since seats are usually limited.

But what if you are planning a trip very far in advance, not during a holiday season? You are best off waiting until about 3-4 months before your domestic trip (4-6 months before an international flight) to book since this is when airlines tend to start discounting their fares. Before that you're probably paying "regular price" which means too much!

If you can score a discount of 20% this way off of a $400 regular fare, on two flights a year, that's $160 in savings!

Oftentimes you get a better rate and more flexible terms (such as for refunds and changes) when you book travel directly with the provider. But other times you can benefit from the price protections...

Oftentimes you get a better rate and more flexible terms (such as for refunds and changes) when you book travel directly with the provider. But other times you can benefit from the price protections offered by online travel agents. For example, Expedia offers a Best Price Guarantee, promising a $50 travel coupon on top of a refund if someone books flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars or activities for less than you paid.  Orbitz's Price Assurance offers to automatically send you a check if someone books a flight or prepaid hotel room for less. Travelocity offers similar protection with their PriceGuardian service.

Many people reserve seats on flights but don't end up buying the tickets. Most of these reservations “auto-cancel” at midnight in the time zone where the airline is based – such as Eastern Time...

Many people reserve seats on flights but don't end up buying the tickets. Most of these reservations “auto-cancel” at midnight in the time zone where the airline is based – such as Eastern Time Zone for Delta (Atlanta) and Central Time Zone for American (Dallas) and United (Chicago). Searching between midnight and 1:00 a.m. in the appropriate time zone can mean grabbing those bargain seats before they go back into general inventory. Act fast because they may be gone in a matter of hours!
 
In general, sale prices usually come out in response to other airline promotions.  Discounters like Southwest and Airtran usually launch sale fares on Tuesdays and other airlines tend to follow quickly. So try looking late Tuesday morning and early Wednesday morning for great deals.

If you have plenty of time, you can price tickets on airlines’ individual websites one at a time. You can feel confident that you are usually finding the best deals on flights this way. But you can...

If you have plenty of time, you can price tickets on airlines’ individual websites one at a time. You can feel confident that you are usually finding the best deals on flights this way. But you can often find the best prices on airfare much faster by using a travel search engine like Kayak.com or Sidestep.com. They will simultaneously search individual airlines sites as well as a variety of travel search sites (including Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Priceline.com and more). They compile the results and let you compare.

Parents, grandparents, children, grandkids, second cousins once removed…when the whole family gets together for a big holiday shindig, chances are someone’s gotta travel. And, since it's a...

Parents, grandparents, children, grandkids, second cousins once removed…when the whole family gets together for a big holiday shindig, chances are someone’s gotta travel. And, since it's a holiday, chances are that prices will be a heck of a lot higher than the rest of the year.

This guide will give you all the best info to help you save money on holiday air travel so you can get the best and cheapest flight possible!

A great article from the travel experts at Farecompare.com explaining the rationale behind some of the airfare tips posted on LOZO such as buying on Tuesdays, shopping between 3 months and 21 days...

A great article from the travel experts at Farecompare.com explaining the rationale behind some of the airfare tips posted on LOZO such as buying on Tuesdays, shopping between 3 months and 21 days before departure, and more.

SeatExpert's easy to use guide to picking the best seat on an airplane. Enter your flight information or browse by airline to see which seats offered more legroom, storage, or other benefits for the...

SeatExpert's easy to use guide to picking the best seat on an airplane. Enter your flight information or browse by airline to see which seats offered more legroom, storage, or other benefits for the money (and which ones to avoid).