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.::Warning over inexpensive flights 'extras'::.

HOLIDAY-MAKERS booking "inexpensive" flights could be paying much than they bargained for, Warwickshire trading standards chiefs have warned.

Travellers are progressively buying inexpensive flights offered by budget airlines at travelling agents and on the internet.

But Warwickshire Trading Standards is warning that the "extras" on some low-priced flights can finish upward making them more costly than those offered by much conventional airlines.

And they seek airline companies to publicize more understandably to customers.

The admonition comes after covert officers from the service visited travelling agents in Rugby, Leamington, Nuneaton and Stratford, as easily as looking at deals accessible on the internet.

There can be extra booking charges for paying by credit card with some airlines charging a flat fee and some charging a percentage of the total cost.

Luggage allowances have been cut on many airlines, with charges for exceeding set limits. Travellers may also be charged extra to book a preferred seat.

Trading standards officers said they found it possible to save 43 per cent by booking with bigger, non-budget airlines.

Mark Ryder, head of Warwickshire trading standards, said: "We call upon the budget airlines to make their advertised headline prices clearer, so the average traveller can see just how much they will have to pay and can compare prices.

"Our advice is don't be drawn in by enticing offers. Shop around before you book.

.::Looking to save on airline tickets?::.

As the summer travel season kicks off, we have some good news for frequent flyers. And it could mean money in your pocket.
Eyewitness News reporter Kemberly Richardson has more.

All you have to do is click on a new Web site called "yapta.com." It stands for "Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant."

There, you'll be connected to a world of potential savings. And for the airlines, it's a way to build a loyal customer base.

We've all been there.

"It's very time consuming," one airline passenger said.

You're searching for the lowest airfare. Then you book and the price of the ticket drops.

"Yeah, I have a bunch of times I have no choice but to take the loss," another said.

Not necessarily.

Welcome to Yapta.com, a new Web site that could save you money and time.

From his Seattle base, co-founder Tom Romary says he's confident the idea will take off.

"What Yapta does is connects you to that constantly changing pricing environment," he said. "So you don't miss out on a deal or free travel in the form of a travel voucher."

There are other sites which just track markets, but Yapta zeros in on specific flights.

Here's how it works.

Go to a Web site - I picked American airlines - and find a flight. After downloading Yapta, you can now tag your selection.

They'll track and check prices and send you an E-mail when they drop. Then you contact the airline and get ready to make more room in your wallet.

"If you bought a $400 ticket on United, for example, and it dropped to $250, even on restricted ticket, you are offered a voucher good for 12 months for $150," Romary said.

Some airlines even offer cash for what's called a "rollover," minus the change fees.

You can also use the service before you buy a ticket. You will get the same alerts.

Testing revealed that over a 21-day period, about one-third of flights dropped in price and qualified for a voucher or cash back. The average price drop was 16 percent.

"This is going to be great for the really savvy travelers," Pauline Frommer said.

Frommer is a travel expert and created her own line of guide books. She says Yapta is a hugh step forward in a world where airline ticket prices fluctuate like stocks. But she's cautious. The site focuses on certain airlines, and she points out that often you will get better prices from lesser known carriers.

"For example, you fly air Kuwait to Paris for much less than you would on Air France or American," she said.

Be careful. If you book or search for a flight using an online travel service like Orbitz or Expedia and the price drops, you will not be entitled to the guaranteed airfare rule. You must book directly with the airline.

[by WABC-TV]

.::Cheap fares ... and lots of extras::.

Ryanair grew into Europe's leading low-priced airline by selling seats for laughably reduced fares and charging for everything else.

The carrier's penny-pinching job example is taking grip in the United States. A smattering of airlines accuse for drinks and snacks, checked bags and reserving a place in rise.

A start-up called Skybus starts flying Tuesday with a scheme that's closer to Ryanair's bare-bones example than anything this position of the Atlantic.

Skybus, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, sells the first 10 tickets on its 150-seat Airbus 319s for $10. Overall, fares are 50 percent less than what major airlines charge, says CEO Bill Diffenderffer.

Passengers will pay $2 for a Coke and $6 for a sandwich, $5 for each of the first two checked bags and $50 for the third. Skybus has introduced a few new twists to no-frills flying.

There's no customer-service phone number. You can't bring food and drinks on board. Fine print for vacation deals promoted on the Skybus Web site identifies the seller as a time-share company.

Flight attendants have good reason to sell onboard products aggressively: they get 10 percent of each sale to supplement their $9-an-hour salaries.

"We're a little out in front on this, " says Diffenderffer, a former IBM vice president and CEO of the travel reservation system SystemOne Corp.

Skybus will be the best test of whether Americans will embrace the stripped-down product pioneered by Ryanair, says Dan Petree, business college dean at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.

"The business model assumes air travel is a commodity and people will respond well to a very, very low-price and a very low level of service, " he says. "Nobody knows the answer."

Skybus will start with flights between Columbus and eight domestic cities, including Fort Lauderdale.

The Tampa Bay area isn't on the airline's radar, says Diffenderffer. Skybus is avoiding head-to-head competition with low-fare giant Southwest, which flies twice daily to Columbus from Tampa International Airport.

But two other carriers that adopted "a la carte" pricing fly from local airports. Spirit Airlines rebranded itself in March as an "ultra low-cost carrier, " cutting fares up to 40 percent charging for checked bags, drinks and snacks.

Allegiant Air sticks even closer to the Dublin-based Ryanair's blueprint. Declan Ryan, son of Ryanair founder Tony Ryan, is an Allegiant director and owns nearly 1-million shares of the airline.

Its Web site steers visitors to hotel and rental-car packages. Allegiant charges a $7.50 "convenience fee" for buying a ticket on the Internet or the company's toll number.

Reserved seats cost $11 each way. The first two checked bags cost $2 each and fee soars to $50 for the third. Flight attendants sell Pepsi and bottled water for $2, a snack box for $5, beer and wine for $6.

A brochure in the seat-back pocket pitches a dizzying selection of souvenirs, from $9 Kodak disposable cameras to Disney beach towels for $20 "doubles as a great airline blanket".

Such ancillary revenue is a big deal for Allegiant, headquartered in Las Vegas. Of the $105.53 spent by the average passenger on a flight in the first quarter of 2007, nearly $19 came from fees and sales besides air fare.

Customers flying from St. Petersburg to Chattanooga, Tenn., last week said the fees were no big deal. Instead of buying the $2 Pepsi, Esther Fernandez brings an empty water bottle, fills it near the gate and mixes in a drink powder.

She moved from Dunlap, Tenn., to be near a brother outside Tampa who's recovering from a heart transplant. Allegiant has the only nonstops to Chattanooga and with fares as low as $39, Fernandez gets back to see her husband and kids a couple times a month. "For what they charge, I couldn't drive to Atlanta, " she says.

Free sodas and checked bags aren't how customers define good service, says Skybus CEO Diffenderffer. The start-up has attracted $160-million in capital from investors that include Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley. Skybus has four new jets with 75 more on order.

"What's most important is low fares, aircraft that arrive on time and that your bag is there when you get there, " says Diffenderffer. "And people like a smile."

Big discounters are taking notice. Southwest is looking for ways to raise new revenue by selling new services like wireless Internet connections onboard. AirTran Airways sent a team to Europe last fall to fly Ryanair and easyJet, another discounter that doesn't include certain extras in its fares.

"We're watching it and seeing certain things consumers want in the price of a ticket, " says AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson. "Cokes and snacks, a bag of peanuts or pretzels. A pillow and blanket."

But Airtran does think some customers, like families traveling together, might be willing to pay for seat assignments more than 24 hours before their flight. The airline hasn't decided whether to offer that, he says.

.::::.

If you're looking for cheap airline tickets, there's a new Web site that promises to send you an e-mail alert when prices drop.

The Web site, yapta.com, allows users to sign up for alerts when searching for fares to desired locations.
Yapta also will send alerts when airlines offer vouchers or refunds for already purchased tickets.

.::Budget flight firms and travel insurance::.

Holidaymakers who prefer to buy travelling policy from budget flying operators are being overcharged, it has been suggested.

According to Stuart Bensusan, managing manager of Essential Travel, tourists are paying over £100 overly often for the price of their travelling policy policies, reports Travel Weekly.

He told the publication: "The level of mark-up charged by online flight companies is excessive and a totally unnecessary cost for holidaymakers to pay."

Mr Bensusan added that as a result many DIY tourists are "falling into a huge travel insurance honeypot."

Budget airlines were reported to be overcharging for travel insurance in an attempt to recoup for expenses lost in other areas, with Mr Bensusan suggesting tourists "have been used to paying over the odds on the high street".

Earlier this month, InsureandGo director Perry Wilson claimed that those purchasing travel insurance from tour operators and holiday agents are likely to find themselves "paying over the odds" in addition to receiving inadequate cover.

© Adfero Ltd

.::The Cheap Flights Roundup::.

Delta Air Lines continued its expansive emergence from bankruptcy
this week, as the fight for ownership of Midwest Airlines raged on. And
where would we be without another great range of summer flight deals
and new routes?

Here you can see the full post: cheapflights.com

.::3.5 tips good travel deals::.

WIth a busy travel season expected this summer, it may be difficult to find a last-minute deal. You may have trouble finding bargain-basement prices, travel professionals say it is possible to pare costs. You just need to think strategically.

1. Shop midweek

Many myths exist about which day of the week airlines typically cut fares. But when it comes to last-minute weekend getaways, Stitt said most airlines post specials, or e-fares, on Tuesdays.

Flights that depart on a Tuesday or Wednesday also can help you snag a fare as much as 40 percent lower than leaving on a Friday.

2. Be flexible

If you can stay as loose about your destination as you are about the days you travel, you will have an even better chance of saving money.

3. Keep searching

Don't assume you are too late to save a few dollars on trips to more popular summer destinations, such as Europe. While you won't find the low fares typical of early spring and fall, the continent's off-season, airlines may run periodic sales to help fill any empty seats.

Airlines, for example, sometimes release additional discounted student airfares starting in mid-May, on average, student fares are 10 percent to 20 percent cheaper.

0.5 Act fast, When you do spot a deal, don't delay,because the best deals go fast in the summer.

[by Carolyn Bigda from Chicago Tribune]

.::Low-cost fares::.

When AirTran Airways touches down in Charleston on Friday, it will
carry with it big expectations, namely the potential to save the
business community and vacationers millions of dollars in travel costs.

In
the fourth quarter, Charleston International was ranked as the
sixth-most-expensive airport in the country to fly to and from,
according to government figures. Carriers collected $445 a ticket to
land and take off in the Holy City during those three months, $66 more
than the average U.S. fare.

Local officials hope AirTran's new
twice-daily service will bring those figures more in line. With average
one-way fares of $91, the Orlando-based carrier is cheaper than the
storied low-cost pioneer Southwest Airlines Co., although Southwest
flies longer routes on average.

However, Charleston has earned a
reputation for being a place where discount carriers come to die. The
hopes for cheap fares here have crashed and burned time and again, as
the incumbent carriers selectively slashed their prices to hang on to
their customer base.

The local business community is taking
measures to make sure that doesn't happen again. The Charleston Metro
Chamber of Commerce, for example, has organized an aggressive lobby to
get its member companies to pledge allegiance to AirTran.

And the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is featuring the carrier prominently in its marketing materials.

Chris
Fraser, broker-in-charge at Charleston-based commercial real estate
company Grubb & Ellis|Barkley Fraser, has asked all of his staffers
to use AirTran. He recently bought an AirTran round-trip ticket to
Atlanta for $235; the last trip he took, a flight to Chicago, cost
almost $800.

"If we don't fly them, they'll leave and we'll be
right back where we were," Fraser said. "And I think it has a direct
impact of businesses that are considering relocation to Charleston."

A dime a mile

AirTran
spokesman Tad Hutcheson said the company has been "very encouraged" by
advance ticket sales. He also was impressed when the company's February
announcement of its new service drew about 200 people to the Charleston
terminal.

"Usually, if we have a dozen, that's considered successful, so that was quite an eye-opener for us," Hutcheson said.

AirTran's numbers in Charleston so far are similar to its results in Savannah, where the carrier has offered service since 1995.

John
Powers, who owns Charleston-based agency Travel Management Group, said
the cheapest "buckets" of AirTran seats in its first few weeks of
service already have been snapped up.

Powers noted that competing carriers are not only slashing their prices, they're also jettisoning tricky fees and restrictions.

Saturday-night
stay requirements are falling out of the market. Walk-up fares are
dropping fast and even the cost of one-way tickets are being trimmed to
match AirTran's pricing model, he said.

"Essentially, everyone is changing their fare structure effective on the 24th," Powers said.

But cheap tickets don't make much difference if a carrier's financials aren't steady.

FLYi
Inc., also known as Independence Air, sold $59 seats right up until it
pulled into bankruptcy court and was parceled out to the highest
bidders.

Unlike FLYi, AirTran Holdings Inc is not some scrappy
upstart, but rather an ace in the discount dogfight. In its 15-year
evolution, the carrier has built a strong route map and a
frequent-flier program, a perk that helps build loyalty among business
travelers.

Its passenger count almost doubled in the past five
years and its revenue almost tripled. AirTran has made money every year
since 2001, including $15.5 million last year, though its average fares
still were just $181 round trip.

And its costs are almost as low
as Southwest's. In the first quarter, AirTran paid just under a dime to
fly one passenger one mile, a key industry yardstick. It collected just
over 13 cents per passenger per mile. In the cut-throat commercial
aviation industry, that's considered a smashing success.

"We
think they'll be able to compete in most markets they enter," said
Marisa Thompson, an analyst who tracks AirTran for Chicago-based
Morningstar Inc.

Steady hand

Mark Fava, an
aviation attorney at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's
Charleston office and a former lawyer for AirTran archrival Delta Air
Lines Inc., said the true test for the region's newest carrier will
come in the slow winter months. Charleston's business travelers and
AirTran's ability to fine-tune its flights and fares here will make the
difference, according to Fava.

"I think they're here to stay, I really do," he said. "It's long overdue. And they came in with that vision."

The
biggest flight hazard for AirTran is fuel prices, which burned so many
carriers into bankruptcy in recent years. Though AirTran has locked in
contracts for almost half the fuel it needs this year at $2 a gallon or
less, it still pays more for gas than it does to keep its 7,400 workers
on the payroll. Roughly a third of its outlays go to the pump.

The
other uncertainty on the horizon is AirTran's $389 million bid for
Midwest Air Group Inc., a Milwaukee-based carrier. If the buyout offer
succeeds, the acquisition would strengthen AirTran's position in the
Midwest, but it would also saddle the company with more debt and the
potentially costly and distracting challenge of integrating a new
company into its system.

In Charleston, AirTran will go head to
head with Delta, a carrier strengthened and streamlined by its recent
stop in bankruptcy court. Thompson of Morningstar said Delta likely
will increase its capacity in coming months, but she thinks AirTran has
built the muscle and the mass to hold its own.

"They have really
honed themselves as one of the premier low-cost carriers," Thompson
said. "They probably will have a more steady hand than most."

[by Charleston.net]

.::Cheap Airfares and WWW::.

If nothing else, the Internet ushered in the power for schmucks like me to ferret away cheap airfares. And when it comes to broadcast travelling, inexpensive rules. Or so it seems.

SkyBus, for example, offers 10 $10 seats on every flying. (Don't say the chief or I know how I'll be getting to India the next moment around. ) Then there was my mother who establish an inexpensive flying to Tel Aviv, but had to consume a day in Frankfurt and another day in Kiev as region of the deal. Therein lies the beauty of mining online airfares (or cheap flights).

But there's much than meets the heart when it comes to shopping online for that last-minute airfare, at least according to Volodymyr Bilotkach, an economist at the University of California, Irvine.

In a survey of ticket prices for 238 routes, I was disappointed to learn that Bilotkach found that the cheapest last-minute fares on Orbitz.com averaged $34.46 -- that's 8.5 percent less than comparable deals available through Southwest, my favorite airline. Jeez, after years of flying Southwest not just for its cheap seats but also for its tasty snacks, this was, well, devastating news.

Southwest sells most of its tickets online but does not make its fares available via major online travel agents such as Orbtiz or Travelocity, which aggregate tickets from major airlines and allow customers to compare prices.

"The research suggests that Southwest exploits its low-cost reputation with last-minute travelers who feel they don’t have time to shop around, even if it’s just a few extra minutes," said Bilotkach.

For his study entitled Reputation, Search Cost, and Airfares, Bilotkach compared flight costs at nine airports with substantial Southwest Airlines presence. He recorded quotes for fares between the same cities with the same travel dates, checking the fares one month in advance of the travel date and again at the last minute -- one or two days before the flight. With his research assistant Lisa Nguyen, Bilotkach got the fare quotes from Southwest and Orbitz at nearly the same time.

Overall, Southwest’s lowest advance purchase fares averaged 2.7 percent below the cheapest tickets found on Orbitz for a comparable flight. These findings support previous research showing that Southwest tends to offer better deals and helps keep prices lower among its competitors.

But for last-minute tickets, the median price was 8. 5 percentage more costly on Southwest. About half of the moment, a cheaper ticket could be establish through Orbitz.

"When it comes to last-minute fares, Southwest’s prices are about natural," said Bilotkach. "It’s significant for consumers to recall that just because an airline is known as the low-priced leader doesn’t intend it’s ever got the better trade -- particularly for last-minute flights."

The disagreement between Southwest’s fares and the cheapest menu establish on Orbitz was greatest for long-haul flights and too somewhat greater for North-South routes, such as a round-trip from Chicago to Florida.

[VIA DDJ`s Portal blog]

.::Help topic: cheap flight::.

Think you require a holiday now? Just look until you're scouring dozens of booking sites, aggregators and airline Web sites to discover inexpensive tickets for your next journey -- so you'll truly be willing for a week away! Unfortunately for tired travelers, there's no genuine shortcut to finding inexpensive airfare. As with any purchase, you need to browse around to have the better trade -- by trying distinct reservation sites, altering your dates, and waiting until just the correct moment to buy. But if you're ready to place in a less moment and attempt, you could rescue large on your next flying. Want to hear how? Read on for our best 10 tips -- and so Discuss percentage your own!

1. Buy Early Especially during peak travelling periods, making reservations recently in the game can cost you a plenty of money. Airline ticket prices typically get upward 21 days, 14 days, 7 days and 3 days before flying, then if you're planning forward, seek to have the request before these deadlines.

2. Buy Late
Often you can buy tickets at the very last minute for a great price, if the airlines have failed to fill their planes. Many airlines offer weekly newsletters that feature their best last-minute deals. You can also find many of them listed in our Bargain Box, or at specialized sites like LastMinuteTravel.com. If you can stand the suspense, and if you are flexible with your itinerary, you can find fantastic money-savers to very attractive travel destinations.

3. Shop Around No issue how better it sounds, you should never book the best menu you view. Start your hunt by checking a few of the leading online travelling providers, like Travelocity, or aggregator sites like Kayak. com. This will offer you an exploratory thought of which airline flies your specific route, what the going pace is and what restrictions might use. Armed with this data, you can lead immediately to the proper airline Web place to view if the same flights are any cheaper (some airlines ensure to provide the lowest potential fares on their Web sites.

While you're there, cheque to view if the airline is running any sales or promotions to your destination. If you wear't view anything in your favored cost scope, wear't be fearful to bide your moment and see the fares for a piece. Most leading reservation sites have alarm features that will e-mail you when your menu drops to a cost you're ready to repay.

4. Know When to Buy
The hardest part of booking a flight is knowing when to stop tracking fares and make that final purchase. If you're flying within the U.S., Farecast.com can help you reach that decision, offering fare predictions for more than 75 cities. Just plug in your itinerary and the site will advise you either to book now or to wait, depending on whether the fare is expected to rise or drop. (Farecast also offers a Fare Guard service, for an additional fee, that will protect you if the price drops after you book.) Another useful site is Kayak.com, which displays the fare history for domestic and international flights, allowing you to see whether your fare is headed in an upward or downward direction.

Finally, keep in mind that most airlines launch fare sales on Tuesdays and Wednesdays -- so if you decide to buy on a Monday, you may be gnashing your teeth on Tuesday when your destination goes on sale.