Secrets of the Savvy Traveler : Part 2

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Business of Life
by Nancy Keates

(Page 2 of 2)

Also, keep in mind two other money-saving tips:

1. Flying to an international destination from a hub airport is likely to be more expensive than flying out of a non-hub city.

2. Foreign partners in airline code-share agreements usually have cheaper tickets for the same flight.

Now you can start the buying process. Here's what to do:

Armed with an Official Airline Guide (OAG), which lists all the flights to every airport in the world, start online by downloading sidestep.com.

The service will appear on the left half of your screen and will sift through airline websites and lots of other travel vendors you wouldn't normally search that aren't in the big centralized reservation systems. Then check the Big Three ticket-buying websites — Expedia.com, Travelocity.com and Orbitz.com. Route by route, these can be quite different because they have different pricing negotiated with different carriers. All offer packages of airfare and hotel bookings that can yield savings. And they'll search alternative airports near your destination — a key money-saver. Don't spend more than half an hour trying to find a bargain this way and — unless you really do have all the time in the world, we recommend skipping all the other, smaller sites. Our long experience shows that the return for this extra effort is usually quite slim. On the other hand, beware of hype on the big sites. For example, Travelocity's "Good Buys" simply aren't always the best deal. Orbitz may have good fares but it doesn't negotiate proprietary deals with airlines — meaning other sites may well have deals Orbitz doesn't.

1. That's why the next stop is the airlines' own sites, where they often sell fares that aren't widely available and list last-minute deals. Booking through the sites can also net incentives, like bonus frequent-flier miles, and lets you avoid fees charged by the Big Three. Don't just look at the big carriers — every airline has its own site and the less-known ones don't show up elsewhere.

2. Finally, go on Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) and bid 10 or 20 percent lower to see what you get — if you don't like it, you have an hour to cancel the results.

Bonus Tip: Keep Looking After Buying

Just because you already bought a ticket, don't stop looking at prices. Even with the airline industry's financial woes, most carriers will still refund you the difference between the two prices — as long as you qualify for the new fare's rules and restrictions. And here is the big surprise: Generally you do qualify. The best way to make sure is to call the airline. Refunds either come in the same form in which you paid, or as travel vouchers, depending on the carrier.

When would you not qualify? One example: You hear about a lower fare four days before your departure but it has a 14-day advance-purchase requirement. Because that is a common requirement, check published fares at least two weeks before you leave. The caveat: Most airlines have exceptions. For instance, Delta won't issue refunds if the lower fare is an Internet-only one.

Finding Scarce Air Tickets

The Problem: The plane tickets you want for the holidays are already sold out.

The Solution: Stay up late.

Every night at midnight, new plane seats go back onto the system. That's when airline reservations made but never confirmed expire, freeing up space on many flights. Airlines typically "reload" at midnight in the time zone where they are based — in all, hundreds of new seats are fed back into the system every night. On a recent evening, for example, American Airlines' website showed three nonstop flights from New York to Orlando, Florida, an especially busy route, with seat availability for the coming Friday. But at midnight CST, seats on a fourth flight (one with an earlier departure) popped up as well.

Tracking Flight Delays

The Problem: What can you do to cut down on future waits at the airport?

The Solution: Most major airlines have flight-tracking services, which provide the latest information on arriving and departing planes, and some have special features.

Delta (delta.com) and Northwest (nwa.com) will e-mail you with gate information and any schedule changes. American (aa.com) will call or page you. These sites are now updating their information more frequently. Even if you don't know the exact itinerary, often you can input what you do know and a list of possible flights will pop up. Some sites have a few extra features. Flightarrivals.com tells you about delays at the airports themselves. Trip.com even shows the plane moving across a map in real time, and its speed and altitude.

The Joys (and Benefits) of Delay

The Problem: What to do if you get bumped.

The Solution: If you can handle the hassle of a delayed trip, getting "bumped" from a flight can reap big rewards.

The Department of Transportation requires that airlines compensate bumped passengers, and the rules officially apply only if the flight leaves from the United States and if the carrier can't find a way to get you to your destination within an hour of your scheduled arrival. You typically get around $300 in vouchers for future tickets, but if too few people raise their hands, airlines will sweeten the deal — sometimes up to $800 or more in perks — until they get enough takers.

Always ask for a seat reservation on another flight before agreeing to get bumped — for common routes, you could end up departing just 15 minutes later, but for tropical islands, the next available flight may not leave for two days. Airlines should put you on another carrier's flight if one is available. If you get stranded overnight, ask the airlines to pay for extra expenses such as hotel rooms, transportation and meals.

Want to improve chances of a bump? Check in as early as possible. Once at the gate, ask the agent if the flight is oversold, and volunteer on the spot to give up your ticket. Airlines bump on a first-come, first-served basis, so those who get their names in first are guaranteed to be left behind if the airline determines volunteers are needed. If you check in 30 minutes or less prior to departure, you could get bumped without compensation.

Copyright © 2005 by Nancy Keates. Excerpted by permission of Crown, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Nancy Keates has been a reporter and editor for The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal since 1996, covering travel, art, home trends, technology, health, restaurants, shopping, education, and family issues. Before joining The Journal, Nancy was Johannesburg correspondent and bureau chief for AP - Dow Jones, the international arm of the Dow Jones newswires, for three years. She then moved to Washington, D.C., and subsequently covered international trade and finance. She and her husband, David Siker, a physician, live in Portland, Oregon, with their two sons, Vaughan and Teddy.