How To Save On Airfares And Enjoy Cheap Flights

How To Save On Airfares And Enjoy Cheap Flights

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Airfare deals and cheap flights: how to find them? Easily!

Many of us want to find the best airfare deals and to save as much money as possible. I have some pieces of advice for you and trust me – these tips really work! Don't read only airlines' tips - they can seen very nice however they are not always true.

First of all, you have to follow airfare deals and current flights offers. It is not very easy because there are so many airlines. Actually there are some great tools which can help you follow airlines without spending so much time at their websites. You can follow airlines at Twitter or at Facebook. Or you can sign up at some special website comparing the lowest fares and the cheapest airline tickets. Such sites send you email alerts for free and you can enjoy low fares without getting older behind your computer.

If you have done this, consider also the time of your departure – if you know it long enough you can save a lot on airfare. If you combine this with the tickets to secondary airports where taxes are much lower than usually, you can save more than half from you tickets.

You can choose whether you want to travel with traditional airline or low cost (or cheap) airline. both of these two types have their advantages and disadvantages. However - if you want to fly really cheaply you should first consider if you really need to have a free snack during you flight. Low costs are cheaper but at the same time they offer less comfort. If you prefer one of many low cost airlines don't forget to register to airline's frequent flyer program. And one of the latest tips – think twice when you pack your baggage! Some airlines have very high fees for excess and some even for checked baggage. So pack only thinks you really need.

How to save money on airfare: tips on cheap flights

Winter is approaching quickly and the most of us is looking forward to enjoy our holiday. No matter what destination you chose you will probably travel by air. Of course, it is comfortable and quick – but on the other hand it is also very expensive. But is it really? Couldn´t we save a lot on airfares? Lets find 5 basic rules how to save your money and enjoy flying. Read my tips on cheap flights!

Take advantages of special airfare deals

Don´t hesitate and book your flight when you find some offer! You can save more than you could imagine. If you don´t want to search for deals and offers every day you can register to one of special airfare deals site. Usually, it is very simple – register for free, mark selected routes and wait till an email alert comes.

Book early or buy last minute flights

When you want to enjoy cheap flying there are two opportunities for sure: you can book early or late – sounds like total rubbish but think about it for a second. If you book early the prices are lower than they are normally. But on the other hand you have to know the exact dates of departure and arrival in advance.

The second example is clear enough. When you book last minute flights they won´t be as expensive as usually. But as always there is a catch – you never know whether there is enough place for you and your friends and more over it is not usually possible to fly on dates you choose.

Be flexible and don´t choose the biggest airport

The biggest and busiest airports are not the right choice when you want to save on airfare. They have more expansive taxes and that´s why your tickets will be also more expensive. But don´t be disappointed. Every larger city has several airports – so it is only up to you which one you choose. Moreover, secondary airports are often served by low cost airlines.

Enjoy frequent flyer programmes

Members of frequent flyer programmes have several advantages. You earn miles and when you fly some miles you get a discount or other benefits.

Consider your baggage weight

Think about you baggage. Is it really necessary to carry some many things? If not please put out all of those unnecessary things. Why? Is is simple – you can choose low cost carrier and the price of ticket is really low. But the rate for excess baggage can exceed the price of airline ticket – so don´t be silly and take only things you really need.

Which is the best airline?

Whether you are planning holidays with your family or business travel you should consider that flying belongs to the most convenient and also the fastest way of travelling. It's quite difficult to find the "best airline". The selection of airline is always individual. However, we can at least divided the airlines into two basic groups: traditional and low cost airlines. Both groups have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's look closer at the most known airlines - both traditional and low cost. (There are many websites offering the listing of airlines, e.g. flylowcostairlines.org).

The most important advantage of traditional airlines is not only the comfort but also the wide route selection. You can find connections from one airport to many destinations all over the world. Every year there is a survey hold by SKYTRAX and then airlines are awarded by World Airline Awards. You can find many categories in which the airlines are compared and thanks to this find the best airline suited exactly for you.

Well known traditional airlines are e.g. Air New Zealand, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines or Swiss International Air Lines in Europe, Mexicana Airlines and LAN Airlines in Central and South America or Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airlines in Asia. Actually, there are too many of them and you can find at least one traditional airline in every single country.

The most important advantage of low cost airlines is definatelly the price of the tickets. Moreover, thanks to competion of low cost carriers airlines have to make their prices even lower. That's why they often offer different airfare deals and air tickets sales. Don't tell me you don't know the most known low cost airlines such as Ryanair, Air Berlin or Condor. These low cost airlines also offer connections to many destinations all over the world.

Follow airlines to find cheap flights and airfare deals.

Social networking is one of latest marking tool. Social media - especially Twitter and Facebook - has been tagged as a fad for the youth market, but it's not a passing phenomenon – all companies will quickly learn to use it as tomorrow's essential marketing platform. Not only companies however do this. Take Obama's campaigns for example – he used many social networks and guess what- this move was very successful! That's why this technique is followed by many airlines. Lets have a look at Twitter today.

First of all, we must mention the most followed airlines at Twitter. JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) for example more than 1.3million followers. Just right behind it there are Southwest AirlinesVirgin America (@VirginAmerica), American Airlines(@AAirwaves), Delta Air Lines (@DeltaAirLines), Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir), Air New Zealand (@flyairnz) and many more. (@SouthwestAir), United Airlines (@UnitedAirlines), JetBlue Cheeps (Jet Blue's last minute flight deals posted every Monday, @JetBlueCheep),

It is easy to follow every of them and get upcoming airfare sales. On the other site, if you want to follow more airlines it starts to be a little bit complicated. Just imagine you follow e.g. 20 people (friends, companies..) and you want to add another 10 airlines that adds lets say 50 tweets a day! Moreover prepare that you will have many tweets that you are not even interested in (such "Airline wishes you good morning")! And you will get lost in such huge amount of tweets in particular.

I actually find very easy solution how to find the best aifare deals without having hundreds of needless tweets. There are couple of sites gathering as much information about current flight offers and upcoming airfare sales as possible. I look at their profiles and choose one of them which seems to me as the best - @myairdeals. When you look at it now you will see only three or four best deals of the day – the rest can be found at its homepage. However they plan to make their system better and have very subtle system. Followers will be able to follow deals from/to selected destinations. The best about this system is that you can be inform about deals which you are really interested in!

This site – MyAirDeals.com - makes its users possible to sign up for free and get free email alerts about the airfare deals that suits their profile. What I really like about this site is that it is easy to understand and easy to do everything including changing profile, adding new routes I am interested in and even cancelling of account is easy.

Social networks – airlines in Australia and New Zealand

New era of social networking and the usage of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or Flikr reached also many airlines all over the world. Let's focused on Facebook and Twitter in Australia today. Both traditional and low cost airlines trying to sell their airline tickets have their profiles on Twitter and Facebook – are they successful? Let's compare some of them and we will see.

There are many airlines that provides connections to Australia. However, I would like to analyse only the most involved in social networks. Some of them offer polls, news, videos, photos and communicate with their fans or followers manytimes a day. However, others just have their profile and don't use this new method of marketing. Let's find out whose cheap flights are the most attractive!

Twitter

As you can see from the number of followers the most successful should be AirAsia and Virgin Blue. However it is not so easy. Some airlines (e.g. Air New Zealand or Tiger Airways) have more accounts – e.g.for different locations or different „audience“- Air New Zealand has even a special twitter account for airfare deals @airnz_deals and @grabaseat. The best way to find all accounts of one airline is to find their „main“ account and then follow other accounts which you can find in its status.

• Jetstar: @jetstarnz (almost 1000 followers)
  
• Tiger Airways: @tigerairways (almost 1500 followers) and @tigerairwaysaus special twitter profile for all people from Australia (almost 1200 followers)
• V Australia:@flyvaustralia (almost 1300 followers)
• Virgin Blue:@VirginBlue (almost 12000 followers)
• AirAsia:@AirAsiaDotCom (almost 14500 followers)
• Pacific Blue:@fly_pacificblue (almost 1050 followers)
• Viva Macau Airlines: don't have a twitter account
• Air New Zealand:@flyairnz (9200 followers)

Facebook

Facebook in Australia is also very popular. The hugest number of fans belongs to V Australia which has incredible number – almost 12.400 fans! Look at airlines's profiles to find the main differences:

• JetStar – 1300 fans (Jetstar Asia)
• Tiger Airways – 1200 fans (Tiger Airways)
• V Australia – 12400 fans (V Australia)
• Virgin Blue – 2100 fans (Virgin Blue)
• AirAsia – 9800 fans (AirAsia)
• Pacific Blue – 1100 fans (Pacific Blue Airlines)
• Viva Macau Airlines (Viva Macau Airlines) - you can only become a friend
• Air New Zealand – 2300 fans (Air New Zealand)

7 places you have to visit in Amsterdam

Summer 2009 has ended. Taverns are closed, deck chairs are locked in the cellars and a cold wind blows on the beach. Where should you go on vacation when your favorite summer destination recalls a ghost town? What about a weekend in the city, going from museum to museum and dining at famous local restaurants?

Amsterdam is one of the best small cities in the world. The city is known worldwide not only for its channels, but also for may museums and historical monuments. There is always something to admire, particularly the pervasive tolerance and diversity. You can find there all the advantages of the city: the history, nightlife, entertainment, international restaurants, good public transportation - but it is a quiet town with little traffic on the roads, especially thanks to its channels. In Amsterdam is nothing far away - but do not forget to rent a bike for an even better experience.

7 places you have to visit in Amsterdam

1. Oude Kerk - right in the middle of the Red Light District is situated this old church with small houses on the sides. Its buildings, especially the octagonal Gothic-Renaissance tower, were used mostly by sailors to get their bearings.

2. Dam square - although we would find more beautiful attractions, Dam Square is the center and heart of Amsterdam. Its history is very fascinating. Dam has witnessed numerous historical dramas over the years, for example Napoleon's soldiers settled there when they occupied the city in 1808. Dam history is well documented in the Amsterdam Historical Museum. The Royal Palace (Koninklijk Paleis) dominates the square. There was originally a town hall and its classical facade and beautiful statues were intended to celebrate the city of Amsterdam. In contrast to its turbulent history, the square is now a quiet place and home of hundreds of pigeons and tourists who rest there.

3.Begijnhof - is a charming well-hidden garden surrounded by old houses. These houses were inhabited by nuns, and there still live unmarried women. In the center of the garden is a medieval church and the number 34 is the oldest house in Amsterdam. The entrance is on the street Spui and is marked with an engraved emblem. Entry is free.

4. Magere Brug - or "Skinny Bridge" is the most famous bridge out of the 1280 or so bridges in Amsterdam. It is a traditional Dutch drawbridge connecting the banks of the river Amstel. The bridge was built in 1670.

5. Jordaan - once a working class area, now one of the most sought after addresses in Amsterdam. Rebuilt factories attract mainly students, wealthy businessmen and artists. The idyllic atmosphere consists of a mixture of narrow streets, picturesque canals, cafés, shops and art galleries.

6. Rembrandtplein square - is lined with restaurants, pubs, cafés and hotels. It is a true magnet for tourists and a popular center of nightlife. You can also find there the traditional Dutch pub with real Dutch music. In the center of the square is a small but pleasant park where you can relax or pay homage to the statue of Rembrandt. Near the square are also great night clubs, diamond dealers, shops with tacky souvenirs and a plenty of gays who are waiting for their date.

7. Red Light District - atmosphere of alcohol, party, sex and various Peeping Toms is omnipresent. Shops offer hardcore videos, magazines and toys for adults. The Red Light District is a some sort of a sinful sexual amusement park visited by hordes of tourists. The famous red light distracts from the beautiful old houses around the channels. The area is constantly guarded by the police, but even though you should be careful. There is a strict ,,no photography“ policy.

And do not forget – a trip to Amsterdam is not complete without a boat cruise on a canal and a visit to a windmill.

How to get there

Amsterdam is one of the best European destinations and can be reached easily both by air and by land, or even sea. Book your cheap ticket with one of the many low cost airlines that fly to Amsterdam. Getting there might be really cheap if you take advantage of various airfare deals on flights to Amsterdam´s airport Schiphol which is located just a few kilometers from the city center. on