Airfares / Air Travel - Useful Tools and Tips

I want to go to Switzerland around the 1st of June next year, when will be my best time to start looking for a plane ticket?

A website that shows where the "turbulence" may be on your flight today...

Turbulence Web Site

Here's something you that might be useful. It's a simple search gadget for your personalize Google home page if you have one.

Basically go here and add it to your google page, and then you can search airfare direct from there.

If anyone's saving up ff miles for their next trip, and already has some flying planned in the next couple of months, American Airlines is letting people earn twice the miles for their flights between April & June. (likely they're throwing a bone out to everyone after their operational meltdown last week). Looks like this works for flights previously booked but not flown yet as well.

You'd just go to aa.com & register for the promo in the "AAdvantage Bonus Offers/Airlines" area.

For those thinking of coming to Australia, we have a new budget airline called Tiger Airways Apart from QANTAS, which has a monopoly on flying to/from Alice Springs, Tiger fly Melbourne to Alice Springs. Our other budget airlines are Jetstar
and Virgin Blue.

TIP: Seats are released approx 10 - 11 months prior to travel and cheapest seats are available then.

School holidays are busiest usually 2 weeks in:
March/April (dependent on Easter), June/July, and September/October. Christmas holidays from 20th December to about 31st January.

Peak season for tropical areas ie Darwin, and Cairns is June - August.

Hey guys, I haven't seen anyone else post about this here, so i thought I would. In searching for cheap ways to get to Europe from the States I came across a company called Airtech (www.airtech.com) And basically you buy standby passes, call Airtech the day before you want to leave, and then they'll get you a flight within the next few days (5 max I think). It's got really low rates, like $269 per person, and I was wondering if this is legit, and if anyone else has had any experience with them. I know one of the concerns for some people is the uncertainty about when the flight leaves, but that's not really a concern for me. Any info would be appreciated.

Ethiopianairlines.com is having a great special in honor of Obama's inauguration (you would think it would be Kenya air though). It's buy 1 second passenger rides free deal if you fly from Feb 1st-Mar 31. You have to stay for 21 days though.

I'm bummed cause this so doesn't apply to me. I wish this deal would happen again in September! Anyone know how I can get a flight to Lilongwe, Malawi for $1000? I will love you forever!

The best price I can find for my next trip includes a transatlantic flight with Swiss Air. Any comments on what they are like? I"ve heard some mixed things.

What route?

I last flew Swissair in 1997, but the transatlantic leg (Toronto-Zurich) was actually a code share flight operated by Air Canada. The other flights on the Swiss ticket were Zurich-Nice (operated by their regional, CrossAir), and the only actual SwissAir flight, Paris-Zurich on the way home.

Anyway. All that comes down to "they were fine." Nothing that made them stand out, either good or bad. The planes seemed to be in good repair, one of them (the actual SwissAir one) appeared to be almost brand new. The cabin crew was neither friendly nor rude. Average in virtually every way.

Go when nobody else does, for example before and after holidays. Very often air line companies sell the first few tickets to a destination dirt cheap to see if they sell, and then raise the prices.
If you sign up for their e-mail list you'll get their news letters and have a chance to be first.

This applies to anything but even if you get a good deal always always try and get it discounted, I ask for discounts for everything and you'd be surprised just how much you can get off things. I ask even when not travelling if I am buying anything of value or more than one.
People get embarassed about asking for money off DONT it's your money you are spending and what's the worse that can happen they'll just say no so go for it.
We got a good discount on our round the world tickets and car hire, but always do your research to make sure you are getting the best deal you can it does take time but worth it.

Dohop.com is a good site to look for flights...reason being is that this site searches best one way prices...so if you are looking to go new york to london, it may recommend buying a one way on british airways and come back on virgin atlantic...this site does not force you to buy roundtrip tickets with one particular airline (most times this is cheapest way but NOT always), and DOHOP has solved that problem...