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Airfare for the Wayfarer
by: Frederic Madore
Have you checked the price of airfare lately? Are you like
myself, and quite afraid to contemplate that you’re going to
spend that inheritance from Aunt Tilley on a flight to LA? For the
general public, air travel is still an occasional event, and airfare
is still comparable to a surprise attack of influenza.
We all will agree that air travel is much nicer than the open
road (and faster), when you’re in a hurry and in a compact car.
Airfare, however, is not the pleasant experience that air travel
is. Airfare, once you’re past the sticker shock, is a confusing
subject. The prospective traveler can go online, and check for
cheap, discounted airfare, on several websites that are
independent of any airline sponsorship. What you will find is a
confusing list of possible flights, possible fares, and a message
that alerts you to hurry to book at these discounted prices. At
this point, I generally long for a course in Airfare 101.
Okay, everyone here’s your Basic Instruction class. There are
roundtrip tickets, last minute tickets, discounted and bargain
tickets. First class, coach, and business tickets; Oh yes, and let’
s not forget, the International airfare tickets. Those are the
tickets that come with nitroglycerin tablets as a complimentary
gift.
Roundtrip airfare refers to flight purchases that allow you to go
to and from your destination on just one ticket. This is the most
desired form of travel, and quite frankly, often the cheapest.
Last minute airfare can cause nosebleeds. The tickets can be
purchased online, but only after you mortgage the farm, and
promise your next child to Delta. Low cost, bargain, and
discounted airfare is usually available thru websites like Cheap
Seats, Priceline.com, and VacationsToGo.com. The prices are
often a great deal, if you don’t mind the occasional “bump”
when too many seats are booked, or you can plan and
purchase 2 years in advance. The classification of business,
first class, or coach tickets would refer to your seating
accommodations on the aircraft. The most desired seating
would be the first class section. Here, seats are big, roomy,
and stuffed with the softest feathers on the market. Wine,
cocktails, and a great meal are often standard fare on flights
offering first class seating. Coming back to reality, however,
there is business or coach for the rest of us citizenry who must
actually purchase our own tickets.
Lately, with all the bad publicity that international tourism has
been receiving (thanks to the terrorists), international airfare
has seen modest decreases. Of course, really wonderful
destinations like Paris, Rome, and London are still purchased
with the complimentary nitroglycerin tablets.
As a seasoned traveler, I can promise you that even with this
highly educational course, you won’t be any clearer about what
you need, when you need it, as you purchase your next airfare.
You will never be able to pin the airlines down as to their exact
formula for pricing options, mostly because they don’t have one.
The last lesson in Airfare 101:
As you prepare to purchase your next airline tickets, you can
throw out all the rules and formulas, close your eyes, and just
pick one!
Frederic Madore is the founder of the http://www.airfare-
information-center.info website.
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