Archive for June, 2009

Help, I think I’m being scammed with Buddy Passes?

Darla M asked:


An aquantance of my husband overheard him talking about a trip we were planning to California. The person then says how since she works for an airline, she can get us a great discount on tickets and has gotten them for another manager B-4 my husband’s time there. With ticket prices being so high, we thought it was a great opportunity so we paid her and waited. SIx weeks have now passed and we still have no real confirmation or tickets. She avoided us for weeks but recently broke the news that we would be on standby and using buddy passes. I’ve read all of the drama and risk involved with the passes since she told us this, but what I need to know is: Should she be able to come up with a real ticket/pass for us to take to the airport? She’s says: we just show up with a locator number (which we don’t have yet) and go from there. I can’t fight this b/c I’m clueless how it works. She’s with US Airlines. Also, will we be surprised with even more fees once we get to the airport?
We’ve paid her once, but now she says there are additional fees (four weeks later) and we still have no locator number. We thought we trusted this person at 1st, but after trying to call her for weeks with no response and then now having her suddenly re-appear but requiring more money, I know that something is not on the up and up. Our money is caught in the middle of this. She also has changed the story from her getting the tickets herself to not being able to get them because she was on medical leave and having her pilot friend get them for her. Would the pilot get a better rate or maybe get them for free and perhaps give her a bigger profit from us??? We haven’t paid the additional fees b/c we don’t know if we can trust her anymore. If we do finally get them, could she sabotage us at the last minute? Or could she have pocketed the money we first gave her and not used them to pay the fee and so when we get there, have the airline charge us the fees b/c they were never paid.

Duane
 

Dealing With Airline Ticket Prices

John Reed asked:


Airline ticket costs have been rising in the last few years. In many instances, the inflation of prices can be linked to rising fuel costs and inflation. Airlines have struggled to offset the increase in business expenses by utilizing multiple tactics such as block out days and cutting the number of flights to certain destinations, but inevitably it comes down to raising airline ticket prices.

This trend of passing on the expense of fuel and other expenses to customers is not uncommon at all. Most airlines will lower airline ticket prices during the low travel seasons to spark interest in travelers and then raise them again at the height of travel seasons.

Fluctuations in pricing such as this are frustrating to airline passengers to say the least. The earlier one buys his or her airline tickets, the better the price structure for the tickets. Although this is true, the lower cost is not always an overly traveling budget saving discount. Airline ticket prices are high.

Many avid flyers attempt to purchase their airline tickets months in advance to get the best possible deal but this tactic doesnt work very well in many cases because there are thousands of would be travelers doing the exact same thing for popular flights. Supply and demand keeps prices high.

Then there is the obvious problem of needing a flight on the spur of the moment. OK, not everyone can schedule their travel months in advance. There is such a thing called spontaneity. Deciding to travel and wanting to leave in 2 days or less is common.

Ten out of fifteen people polled admit having been burned by the price of an airline ticket due to not knowing in advance that they would need to travel. Fifteen out of fifteen admitted changing travel plans in an effort to save money.

Travelers should be able to purchase your airline tickets and travel whenever you want. However, purchasing airline tickets based on that desire would cost you big. Airline ticket prices are often fifty to seventy percent higher when purchased at the last moment.

Dont get me wrong. It is best to purchase your airline tickets as early as possible to avoid the jump in price. But if that isnt possible, it is imperative that you use the available online tools to offset the costs associated with spontaneous airline ticket purchases.

The Cheap Airline Tickets Toolbar at CheapAirlineTicketsToolbar dot com allows travelers to earn money for airline tickets so that they can fly without the usual wallet drain.

The Cheap Airline Ticket Toolbar interfaces with TypoBounty dot com. TypoBounty dot com is where companies seeking a very low advertising rate offer to pay web surfers for locating and reporting their web propertys errors. The companies are seeking to eliminate errors such as misspelled words, punctuation errors etc. With the average payout for a single error being over two dollars, financing ones need for airline tickets is no longer a problem.

Shop around for the best airline ticket prices. Do it as far out as possible and use online tools that help offset the sting of the tickets price. Happy travels!



Troy
 

Airline re-scheduled/canceled flight, anything I can do?

Me asked:


I was scheduled to make a flight with US Airways leaving at 5:45 AM, making a 40-minute layover, and arriving at my destination at 1:19 PM. I’ve had these reservations since 2/20. I was just called yesterday by the travel agency letting me know that US Air changed their schedule, making it impossible for me to make my connecting flight. They told me I could either cancel for a refund or change to a flight that left at 12:25 AM and still got there at the same time, with a 4-hour layover somewhere else. Those are TERRIBLE times for us, especially since we live 3-1/2 hours from the airport and I don’t do well without sleep. When I looked into getting a refund and re-booking with another airline, the tickets have now DOUBLED. We can’t change or cancel our reservations as we are staying at a resort.

Do I have any options here? If I contact US Airways, is there any chance they’d give me an upgrade or discount on a future flight or anything else I can do?
Also, the flight isn’t leaving until June so there’s no way it was canceled due to weather and the cost was $940 (2 tickets); now the going rate for 2 tickets is over $1800.

Alexander

 

What type of Shanghai airlines flights are eligible for miles accrual?

jo asked:


I am using Krisflyer from Singapore airlines. I travelled on a 50% discount flight a few months ago and was not eligible for miles accrual. Is there a minimum % discount ticket i need to purchase for mileage accrual?

Rebecca
 

Working for an airline?

Jennifer asked:


If you work for an airline in the airport(Ex: delta, us airways etc.) do you get free or discounted tickets to fly?!

Jeremy
 

How to buy airline ticket online from foreign airline that only accept credit cards but not my visa debit card?

UpFromHere asked:


How can I buy a ticket online from an airline when they only accept credit cards & not my Visa Debit card?
The airline, EVA (evaair) has great online only web fares to Asia. Problem is they only process bookings with a credit card in my name. They will absolutely NOT accept any debit cards, even if they are labeled “Visa” from my bank. I find this amazing, since I am essentially offering them cash, but all the customer service people I spoke with say it’s because they process the transactions at their home-base in Taiwan. Obviously there are technology services to get around that, but I guess they are avoiding paying additional fees and save money. If the discount being offered was not significant, I would buy the ticket elsewhere. However, if I buy on their website I can save around $600! Believe me, I’ve shopped around. I also have frequent flier miles with them through a travel agent before and that gets me deeper discounts than normal, plus two nights free hotel…but only if I buy through the web. My friend offered to put the charge on his credit card and I can pay him cash, but the airline rules say the card has to be presented be in the name of and presented by one of the travelers. Well, I don’t see any option other then buying the ticket from another source and losing the discount. Unless someone brilliant here knows how to buy online with credit in my name within 3 (yes, three) days?

BTW: I tried entering the debit card since I figured it wouldn’t be a problem and processed the same way, etc. It is, in fact, immediately rejected because it’s a debit card. The payment processing system they use seems to able to tell through some instant feedback from a global financial system service.

Charles

 

How To Find Cheap Airline Tickets

Gaurav Sharma asked:


There’s a thrill that you feel shiver down your spine when you are able to get your hands on cheap airline tickets for your next trip. It’s great knowing that you saved money and it’s even fun to brag about your skills at hunting down such a great deal. Just about anyone can find good airfare deals if they take the time to be an informed consumer. If you know your options, and are flexible in your travel dates and times, then you too can score cheap airfare.

On Being Well Traveled

Securing cheap tickets to India can open up opportunities for you and the family to get away and experience parts of the India and world, without coming home and feeling like you put yourself into debt. Indeed, you can enjoy cheap vacations that are still fun, exciting and adventurous by finding those airfare deals and discount hotel reservations, and even car reservations if you plan on driving around the countryside.

Because of the cost of travel these days, it is important to find the cheapest airfares available because this expenditure makes up a large part of the vacation budget for most families. Trimming the price of the airfare by finding discount airline tickets to India can free up money that can be used for a special night on the town at your vacation destination or for extra activities and shopping.

Be Flexible

When looking for cheap airline tickets, one of the things that will give you the most options is your flexibility. If you are on a very tight schedule and cannot change your travel date or time of departure at all, then you will probably end up paying full price. However, if you can push your “days in the air” around a bit, you may find significant savings.

One of the best ways to see how the day of your travel affects your ability to get cheap tickets is to visit the website of your favorite airline. Enter your ideal travels days in the fields that ask for your departing and returning flights. Check out the various fares that are shown and then repeat the process by changing just your departure date. See how that affects the price, then “play” with your return day. You will see how sometimes a small change in the day of your flight can make a big difference in the cost of air fare for your trip.

Look At Everything

Also, be sure to check out how the time of day affects the ticking pricing. Early morning flights and those late night “red eye” flights are often the best choices for getting the cheapest tickets. However, some people assume those flights are always the cheapest and this is not always the case. Some people actually inconvenience themselves when they don’t have to by choosing “red eye” flights. Always compare the pricing of all the flight schedules for the day you want to fly.

Be Proactive



Sometimes, it is easy to think that leaving the arrangements to a travel agent, or a taking a quick look at the big online travel sites is all that’s needed to find cheap airline tickets. However, the industry experts are adamant about the fact that there is not any single source that can be relied upon to have all the current data for all the airfare deals available. There is simply too much information that is constantly changing. Consumers need to take the initiative to visit numerous sites and review as many options as possible to unearth the low airfares they desire.



Renee
 

Will someone explain to me what the point of the travel websites are when the prices look like this:?

anonymous asked:


I went to several different websites, searching the exact same dates, using Continental Airlines in all my searches as they were the cheapest of all the airlines, in most cases the exact same flight from West Palm Beach Florida to Newark NJ …and it seems to me that these travel websites are not saving money at all.

continetal.com-$128.00+$19.30=$147.30
expedia.com-$114.41 + $31.29=$150.70
orbitz.com -$127.99+ $24.30=152.29
cheaptickets-$127.99+$23.29=$151.28
travelation-$104.41 + $63.29=$170.68
cheapoair $104.41 + $62.28=$170.69
priceline – $148.05 + $30.90 =$178.00
airfare – $134.06 + $38.24=$172.30

In theory we are paying these services to negotiatelower plane ticket prices with the airline companies. Then, the charge the consumer more in fees for the discount…which saves them absolutly nothing. The purpose of business is to create value to the consumer…where’s the value?

Darryl

 

Extremely Cheap Airline Tickets

Larry Buhrandt asked:


irfare Tickets

We all are interested in extremely cheap airline tickets right? But unfortunately, we all can\’t have connections with someong employed at the airlines for a super discount, or percentage off the ticket price. But during these rough, economic times, a traveler needs to cut costs any way they can. And I am happy to say that I have just found a great way to make this happen for all of us. Here’s the key totraveling for cheap, and how to use this knowledge to turn even the most luxurious flights into the biggest bargains! Finally, we can all take advantage of extremely cheap airline tickets, and not just the families of the airlines.

I recommend the book called Save On Airfare Tickets written by a former travel agent for one of the major airlines. You will learn when to book your flight on specific days of the week, to receive a considerable discounts, extremely cheap airline tickets

You will also find out how to travel for free by booking your flight on specific dates, and then how to travel for free on almost any dates! How would you like to know the exact days and times of the month, down to the last second when airlines update their fares?

It’s time you find out about the airlines’ booking statistics that they’ve been tight-lipped about for decades. What’s not on your ticket that airlines will never tell you. And how to knock $100 right off of your next airline ticket!

Find out about the amazing secret on how you can earn free vouchers for airfare tickets just from making a phone call and knowing what to say. And the two rules of thumb that will always guarantee you the lowest airfare costs.

But it doesn’t stop with only extremely cheap airline tickets, you will also learn how to get free upgrades on car and hotel rentals, as well as many other discount travel tips revealed just for you.

Francis