How to avail student discount airfare

Most students are on a budget, and need to find a fare that suits them most. This is where the student discount airfare comes in so useful. These tickets can be bought directly from airlines, through travel sites or sites specializing in student travel.

If you are a student you should log onto sites like Student Universe. This site requires proof of identity and insists that all buyers provide their school or college e-mail so that their credentials can be verified. Once this is done the site offers students big discounts.

You can also call sites like STA or Travel Cuts. These sites not only make online bookings but also do offline bookings. However, to make use of their facilities a student needs to buy an International Student Identity Card.

A third place to check student airfares is travel sites like Orbitz. These sites not only provide discounted student airfares but also provide good deals on domestic airfare. You may end up finding a regular deal where you may save more than on a normal student ticket.

The same holds true of airline sites, which put up cheap air tickets for sale. You can buy them and save more money than you would save from a discounted student ticket.

As a student, you should plan your travel early, especially if you know your vacation dates. This gives you the advantage of buying a ticket at a lower price because most airlines and travel agencies provide discounts on tickets that are booked well in advance.

You should also be a little flexible in deciding your travel dates. Often, you will find that tickets bought during the weekdays are cheaper as compared to those bought on weekends.

You can do all this if you plan your travel early. The students, who wait till the last date to make a booking, very rarely succeed in getting big discounts.

Getting a Cheap Airfare Ticket

Today, it makes sense to look for a cheap airfare ticket, especially for frequent travellers. They can reduce their travelling cost by 30 to 40 per cent. The same applies to families planning a vacation. They need not blow up their vacation budget on airline tickets alone.

Instead, they need to plan their journey carefully. The best time to get a cheap ticket is the off season. The rush on the planes is less, and airlines are more than willing to offer big discounts.

However, this may not suit all individuals. They therefore need to plan a trip sometime during the middle of the week or select a flight that takes off during the middle of the day. They will find that these flights have low occupancy rates, and force airlines to offer bigger discounts.

The trick lies in finding the right airline and the right site. You must be willing to spend considerable time searching the net. There may be times when you are lucky and may hit the jackpot with your first few searches. At other times, you may have to spend several frustrating hours. But the search will be worth it.

Your quest for a cheap ticket should start with the airline sites, ideally a fortnight or more in advance. You must check all possible fares being offered by the airlines flying to your destination. To be on the safer side, you must conduct this search at two to three different points of the day. The airlines release the discounted tickets without announcement.

Your next destination should be the large travel sites. These sites work like online travel agencies and offer considerable part of their commissions to travellers. Once again, you can get a better deal if you apply early.

Finally, you should visit all search engine-based travel sites. These sites pick up information from several small and medium travel sites, as well as airline sites. You get to know the best rates being offered by different sites, and can select any one of them.