Analysts tell us interest in the stock market has never been stronger. The Internet catapults the Big Board past Wall Street stuff-shirts and into the homes of everyday working people. These new players are buying, selling and watching prices with a few clicks of their mouses.
Budget travelers should be watching airfares the same way.
Computers Set Airfares
Like stocks, airfares are the sums of very complex equations. Computers weigh the variables of those equations and adjust accordingly. Is Airline B offering a fare so much lower on this route that it is stealing customers? Adjustment. Are there too many empty seats on this plane to make the flight profitable? Is it time to cut the losses and sell those seats at a reduced rate? Adjustment again. What are fuel prices looking like at this hour? You get the idea.
Most of us understand at least one thing about computers -- they make mistakes.
Phil Bacon is a travel agent who watches those daily ups and downs. He once found a round-trip flight between Cincinnati and Honolulu for $108 USD. A mistake? You bet! The computer left off a digit in the actual price of $1108 USD. But if you locked in the $108 fare before the airlines caught the mistake, they would have to honor that ridiculous price.
Unfortunately, travelers won't find too many of these mistakes without incredible luck or days of random searching. But there are thousands of other rock-bottom fares available for those who know where to look.
Lock and Load
Bacon's Destinations Unlimited website offers you the chance to see each airline's fare structure for a selected destination. The strategy here takes us back to our stock analogy. When you see a good price on a stock, you buy it before the price changes. Finding a good airfare should prompt the same mentality -- lock in the fare and load the cost on your credit card.
Like the market, this is not for the timid. Those bargain fares are almost always non-refundable. If your plans change, the big savings turn into a debit. Many internet airline sites are unforgiving of even one simple mistake, so think before you click or get your travel agent on the phone.
Delta offers a Wednesday morning slate of deals that are tailor-made for impulse travel and can be emailed to you each week. Delta and other airlines scan their manifests for impending flights that have empty seats, and then discount those seats to cut the losses. Want to put some spontaneity into your marriage? Surprise your spouse with a last-minute, cut-rate flight to a sultry beach. Do you love golf or skiing? Chances are they will have low fares to at least one resort area.
