You need time to locate inexpensive airfare

There are several places to find inexpensive airfare. The best, of course, is the airline counter minutes before the flight is due to take off. The airline will be willing to sell its empty seats at a bargain rate. However, this is not a good way to get a bargain.

The second is your travel agent. However, your travel agent should be one whom you can trust. Most travel agents will offload those airline tickets where they get the highest commission. So, you must be sure that your travel agent is not going to sell you a ticket that is just a little less than the airline rate.

The best place to get an inexpensive fare is the net, provided you are patient and do not mind spending some time locating the best fare. Your first destination should be the airline sites. Very often, they run discounts or offer special fares to travellers buying tickets online.

Next should be large travel sites like Expedia or Travelocity. Some of these large travel sites buy tickets in bulk and then offer them at reduced rates to travellers. You will find that sometimes the fares offered by these big travel sites differ dramatically on international flights. This is because of their individual arrangements with international carriers.

After this, you should visit the search engines that specialize in travel like Sidestep.com. On these sites, you will get to see the fares offered by both airlines as well as smaller travel sites. You can select the one that is the least expensive.

You can even subscribe to low fare alerts. These e-mails inform you of any cuts in ticket rates. Another place to get inexpensive fares is the flexible fare sections of travel sites or the package deals sections. Both these options can help you save several hundred dollars.

First Class Airfare Promises Royal Treatment

Few people can afford first class airfare. But those who can travel like kings. They get wide pushback seats, lots of elbow room and a superior service. The airlines also try to win them over by providing several thoughtful gifts. These include lip balm, cooling gel, mouth wash moisturizer, hand lotion, hand gel, body gel and even socks.

On long distance routes and international flights the first class passenger also gets a privacy divider, seats that recline completely, eye shades, fresh linen and even duvets. Another area where the airlines pay great attention is food and drinks. They serve possibly the best food you can imagine to their first class passengers. The same goes for drinks.

And why not. The first class passenger pays ten to fifteen times the fare paid by an economy class passenger, and certainly needs to be pampered.

This does not mean that you cannot travel first class. You can, especially if you are a frequent flyer. You can collect all the miles and convert them into a first class ticket. You can also fly some of the cheaper airlines that charge less for first class. You can also get your business class ticket upgraded to first class, if the first class is empty.

Flying first class is certainly an experience, and if you can afford it you must fly first class as often as you can. There can be nothing better for the ego. The service and treatment is impeccable. You feel like royalty.

In fact, the difference in treatment can be felt from the point of check in. The first class counters are separate. They are not meant for the hoi polloi. Then when the boarding call comes the first class passengers either board first or board last.

No wonder the dream of every economy class passenger is to fly first class.