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HOW TO GET THE BEST AIRLINE DEALS?
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Book early There are several ways
smart flyers can get good deals. The most important among them is: Book
early. Spot rates (for immediate travel) are usually 2-4 times higher
compared to ticket rates a few months earlier.
And this is advisable even to the business class travellers. “Though it is difficult for corporate customers, we still advise them to book in advance to save costs,“ says Rastogi. Why do airlines like advance bookings? This is part of their yield management. “Only the first few seats (15-20) are offered at the lowest rates and then they keep on increasing the fares,“ says Sridharan. They keep the last few seats for the spot customers and charge very high rates from them. “Corporate customers who travel at the last minute and pay the maximum price are subsidising customers who book early,“ says Rastogi.
Use calendar spreads The rates
offered by airlines keep varying. “Monday morning flights to major cities are
costly,“ says Rastogi. This is because of the heavy rush of business
travellers at the start of the work week. Similarly, there is heavy outbound
rush from cities on Friday evenings and this pushes up the rates. Leisure
travellers can avoid this rush and save money. “Book tickets on Tuesdays and
Thursdays as they are usually cheaper on these two days of the week,“ says Expedia's
Malhi.
Though the rush will be lesser
compared to Mondays, morning rush to major cities on all weekdays is quite
high. Similarly, on all weekdays there will be outbound evening rush -though
a bit less compared to Fridays.
Leisure travellers can easily avoid this by booking flights in the middle of the day. And, if you are ready for a little inconvenience, there are several late night connecting flights that offer discounted air fares.
Festival day booking Another
problem faced by Indian air travellers is the jump in fares close to major
festivals. The government has to take steps to control this. “During
Christmas time, flying to Goa becomes costlier than flying to London,“ says
Goyal.
Since the government may actually
not do anything about it, you can take steps to help reduce your costs. “Book
on the day of the festival, in case you have to travel the same day,“
suggests Malhi. This is because most travellers want to reach the home /
tourist destinations before the festival and, therefore, the rates are a bit
cheaper on the day of the festival.
Go for combo offers The commonest
combo offers are the return trips. However, if you want to cancel your
journey, some airlines may force you to cancel the return as well. Therefore,
go for the combos only when the return fare is offered at a significant
discount. Next in line are hotel-plus offers. “Travellers should take good
hotel deals when available. After all, they have to look at the bundled cost
for the trip and not just at one component,“ says Rastogi. “At times, air
fare plus hotel room costs may almost be the same as the air fare alone at
other times,“ says Sridharan. Some sites offer travel insurance deal also, go
for it only if you need to buy insurance.
Wait for offers “Travellers have to
plan in advance and then wait for promotional offers,“ says Sridharan.
Though offers pour in almost on a weekly basis, travellers have to act fast to benefit. “Since offers are available for a few hours, they (travellers) have to get the information fast (by signing up for mobile apps, email alerts, SMS alerts, etc.) and also to make up their mind and take action immediately,“ says Dhall. The offers can come through your bank as well. For example, Indigo is now offering 10% discount on base fare for HDFC Bank and SBI card holders. However, please note that you can't club two offers. So, pick the offer that gives you the maximum benefit. |
ETW14063
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