Discount airlines are popping up around the world. They are taking over domestic and international routes throughout Europe and Asia and select routes in South America, Africa and the Middle East. A few even operate intercontinental flights. And many are profitable.

Yet there is a flip side to cheap tickets. Travelers can spend a significant amount of time scouring the web for the best deal. Not all countries have a no-frills airline and not all airports are serviced by a low-fare airline. Many low-cost airlines cannot be booked through on-line agencies or airline ticket consolidators, such as Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz and Lastminute. Promotional offers are usually limited and expire on a daily if not hourly basis. And when you finally find a cheap plane ticket, it is difficult to compare the offering.

The following tips will reduce your search time and prepare you for any additional travel time.

Research

* Determine which low-cost airlines service the route you wish to fly. Many airport web sites include a route map as well as a list of carriers. Alternatives will only become apparent if you check the web site of both airports, arrival and departure.
* If you are traveling abroad or within a foreign country or continent, identify local on-line agencies and consolidators of discount airfares.
* Discount airlines often use secondary airports. Verify distance and ground transportation before you book. Most low-fare airlines and many airline ticket consolidators provide such information on their web sites.
* Many no-frills airlines offer point-to-point service. It may not be possible to check-in for a second flight at a transit desk. Thus you may need to build-in time between flights to accommodate any passport formalities, claim your luggage and check-in for the second leg of your journey.
* Security precautions introduced by major credit card companies may limit your ability to book flights on foreign web sites.

Getting the best deal

* Initiate your search with on-line agencies and airline ticket consolidators.
* Subscribe to the airline and to the consolidator’s newsletter.
* Utilize services that enable you to set a price, such as the Orbitz “Deal Detector”. Orbitz will send an email if fares on the route you select drop to the price level you set. The service is available for free.
* Use the consolidator as a tool. Book directly with the discount airline. This may reduce the service charge without affecting the fare.

Comparing fares

* Discount airfares are often quoted on a one-way basis.
* Taxes, handling fees and other surcharges such as checked baggage are not always included in the initial price. Click through to the final page to effectively compare cost.
* Cheap plane tickets may be quoted in the airline or consolidator’s local currency only. Converting fares to a single currency will facilitate comparison.

Before you depart

* Pack a lunch or a snack and drinks for all. No-frills airlines charge extra for food and drinks!
* Arrive at the airport early if you want to sit next to the kids. Seating is likely to be open and boarding is oftentimes based on the order in which passengers’ check-in.

1. Be flexible.
If you have to fly in at 5PM and leave at 12AM, you’re probably not going to find a cheap flight. Sacrifice a few hours or decide to spend another day wherever you are and you’ll be able to drop a good amount off your bill. Don’t, and you’ll suffer the consequences of stubbornness.

2. Book far in advance.
There is probably no stronger tip than this. If you have some leadership ability, start planning up to a year in advance, push your friends and family on a trip, and you’ll save considerably. However, there is always risk involved with this that comes with booking so far in advance. It’s never too late, though. If you’re within a month, think of the trip, plan it, and book it that day. Generally, the longer you wait, the larger the cost.

3. Continue checking prices.
If you know you have a flight in the future, and it’s already not too late, don’t book immediately. Fares can fluctuate like the stock market, so it can be the most cost effective to continuously plug in your iteniary online until you find the best deal available.

4. Buy late.
For the spur-of-the-moment traveler, several options exist for dirt-cheap flights. The first is to find all your local airlines online and sign up for their newsletters. You’ll often get tips about last-second deals that can make a great trip affordable. There are also several specialized sites available online that will help you find a great last-second flight.

5. Fly on weekdays.
Think about what most people do when they travel, and do the opposite. If you do this, you will save the most money, because airlines are always trying to fill these seats. This means fly on the weekdays, when their planes are the least crowded, and the flights are the cheapest.

6. Air Passes.
Many countries offer air passes at low prices for tourists to promote tourism and inter-country travel. If you have plans to see the scope of Asia or Australia or any other large body of land, looking into Air Passes can be the most cost-effective way to see the country or continent coast-coast. These passes will generally give you a certain number of preordained flights within the country to go with your round-trip airfare.

7. Investigate.
Use multiple travel sites. Don’t assume that the first one you check is going to have the same airfare deals as the others, they won’t. To save the most money, check all the online agencies. There are also several multi-search engines available online. Also, you can sometimes find the best deals on the airlines’ own websites. Southwest sells fares on its own site exclusively, and other airlines are not opposed to posting the lowest possible fare on their own domain.

The more complex you get, in terms of mixing fares, buying hotels, and doing your homework, the more likely it will become that you find the best price available. As it is with most things, hard work pays off. Work hard and you’ll save the money that you don’t need to be spending on your next flight.

Domestic fares for as low as P588 all-in; International fares from P1,388

Cebu Pacific (CEB) will launch a 3-day seat sale on May 27 to 29, 2009 with fares as low as P588 for domestic and P1,388 for international flights valid for travel from July 1 to August 31, 2009. Cebu Pacific is allocating more than 200,000 seats for this seat sale.

A one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare of P1,388 is applied for Clark to Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and Bangkok; Manila to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Min, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei; Cebu to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Cebu Pacific is offering a P2,288 one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare for its Manila to Incheon (Seoul) and Cebu to Incheon, Busan, and Jakarta services.

“We are optimistic that this seat sale will stimulate domestic and international travel during these traditionally lean months. Cebu Pacific remains the pioneer in creative pricing strategies as it continues to offer the best travel deals for all travelers to and from the Philippines,” said Candice Iyog, CEB VP for marketing and distribution.

For domestic flights, Cebu Pacific’s one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare only charges P1,388 all-in for its Manila to General Santos, Davao, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Dipolog; Cebu to Clark and Davao to Iloilo. All other local destinations carry a one-way fare of P588 all-in.
Domestic fares are all-inclusive; international fares are exclusive of government taxes. Promo fares are non-refundable.

‘Go Lite’ fares are for passengers traveling with no check-in baggage. Passengers with check-in bags just have to add P200 to the fare.

Cebu Pacific, the leading domestic carrier, flies to 14 cities in Asia and 32 domestic destinations with direct flights from Clark, Cebu, Davao, and Manila. It currently has the youngest fleet in the country, comprised of 21 Airbus A320s 8 ATR aircraft.

Here is the complete list of destinations included in the latest promo offering of Cebu Pacific:

Domestic

P588 ALL-IN
- Manila to Bacolod, Busuanga, Calbayog, Catarman or Caticlan
- Manila to Cauayan, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Kalibo, Laoag or Legazpi
- Manila to Naga, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Roxas or San Jose
- Manila to Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Tuguegarao or Virac
- Cebu to Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Caticlan or Davao
- Cebu to Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi or Ozamiz
- Cebu to Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Surigao, Tacloban, Zamboanga or Siargao
- Davao to Cagayan de Oro or Zamboanga

P1,388 ALL-IN
- Manila to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato or Davao
- Manila to Dipolog, General Santos or Zamboanga
- Cebu to Clark
- Davao to Iloilo

NOTE:
- All domestic promo fares listed above are all-inclusive of government taxes, you only need to add P200 if travelling with check-in baggage.
- Sale Period: May 27-29, 2009
- Travel Period: July 1-August 31, 2009

International

P1,388++
- Manila to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh or Hong Kong
- Manila to Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shanghai, Singapore or Taipei
- Cebu to Hong Kong or Singapore
- Clark to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau or Singapore

P2,288++
- Manila to Jakarta or Incheon
- Cebu to Busan or Incheon

NOTE:
- All international promo fares listed above are exclusive of government taxes.
- Add P200 if travelling with check-in baggage.
- Sale Period: May 27-29, 2009
- Travel Period: July 1-August 31, 2009

Cebu Pacific’s 3 Day Seat Sale Madness! Hurry! Book your flights now!

Airline Tickets

Check Prices and Save Money

Up to 70% off published airfares on major Airlines. These offers are good on major airlines to destinations world wide. All prices subject to availability on select scheduled airlines and select cities.

Airfare.com

Philippine Airlines will raise up their services to major international and domestic destinations during the upcoming peak summer travel period, highlighted by the upgrading of its Vancouver service to a daily frequency and the addition of flights to local tourist hotspots Boracay and Busuanga.

From March 23, PAL will operate a direct flight to Vancouver every Monday and Wednesday, filling the only two days of the week when the service does not operate.

Unlike the other five days, however, the new service will not continue on to Las Vegas and will operate simply on a turnaround basis.

It injects much-needed capacity into PAL’s Vancouver route, the only direct link between Canada and the Philippines, and has long been sought by the sizeable Filipino migrant community in Canada as well as by the business and leisure segments of the market.

PR 116 departs Manila every Monday and Wednesday at 1:05 p.m., arriving in Vancouver at 10:20 a.m. the same day.  The return service, PR 117, departs Vancouver at 1:00 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 5:50 p.m. the next day.

Widebody Airbus A340-300 aircraft, which seats 264 passengers in a bi-class layout, will continued to be deployed on the route.

The existing five-times-a-week service from Manila to Vancouver, onward to Las Vegas and vice-versa, operated every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, will be maintained.

Meanwhile, PAL will add one weekly flight each to its popular trans-Pacific services to the U.S. West Coast gateways of Los Angeles and San Francisco for the duration of the summer.

An extra Airbus A340-300 flight will operate to Los Angeles every Friday from April 10 to June 19 while another A340-300 flight will serve San Francisco every Sunday from April 12 to June 21.

The additional flights increase total frequency to Los Angeles to ten times weekly and to San Francisco to eight times weekly for the summer.

In the domestic sector, the flag carrier’s low-fares, turbo-propeller unit PAL Express will mount more flights across its network of secondary domestic routes, particularly to island destinations that are huge tourist draws during the summer months.

From March 20, PAL Express will add one daily flight between Manila and Caticlan, gateway to the resort island of Boracay, boosting total frequency on the busy route to 11 flights daily.

On the same day, PAL Express will operate a second daily frequency between Manila and Busuanga, the largest of the Calamian group of islands in northern Palawan that host the country’s most exclusive beach resorts.

The new frequency is an afternoon service that complements the current morning flight.  PR 033 departs Manila at 1:00 p.m. and arrives in Busuanga at 2:05 p.m.  Return flight PR 034 departs Busuanga at 2:30 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 3:35 p.m.

PAL Express will also add two weekly flights between Cebu and Cagayan de Oro to increase total frequency to five times weekly.

Likewise, PAL will augment its regular jet services between Manila and Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Kalibo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa and Tacloban with additional flights of varying frequency throughout the summer season.

Cebu Pacific (CEB) is once again offering its valued customers a seat sale from all its hubs – Manila, Cebu, Clark, and Davao – starting April 25 to 30, 2009 and valid for travel from June 1 to August 31, 2009. Domestic fares are all-inclusive while international fares are exclusive of government taxes. Still these promo fares are non-refundable.

CEB is offering a P599 one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare for its Manila-Kota Kinabalu and Manila-Taipei services. This is also extended to services from Clark to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. On the other hand, CEB is also offering
a one-way P1,099 ‘Go Lite’ fare for its Manila-Hong Kong, and Manila-Macau services. One-way ‘Go Lite’ fares for flights from Manila to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, and Singapore are sold at P1,599. Moreover, one-way ‘Go Lite’ fares for CEB services from Manila to Shanghai, Jakarta, Guangzhou; Cebu-Hong Kong, and Cebu-Singapore are sold at P2,299. The P2,799 one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare is available for flights to Kuala Lumpur, Incheon and Busan (Korea).

They are also offering a one-way promo fare to Osaka, Japan at P2,999. Meanwhile, for domestic flights, CEB offers a P249 one-way ‘Go Lite’ fare for flights from Manila to Busuanga, Cebu, Iloilo, Laoag, Legaspi, Naga, and San Jose. One-way ‘Go Lite’ fares for Manila-Bacolod, Manila-Dumaguete, and other Visayas destinations at P449. One-way ‘Go Lite’ fares from Manila to Mindanao destinations are sold at P1,349 except for Manila to Davao priced at P1,149.

Candice Iyog, CEB VP for marketing and distribution said that they want to support the growth of the tourism industry to help the country keep up with these challenging economic times that is why they are offering this seat sale believing that this will stimulate domestic and international travel during these traditionally lean months.
Promo fares for other domestic routes are available at www.cebupacificair.com or through CEB reservations at 70-20-888 (Manila) / 230-8888 (Cebu).

‘Go Lite’ fares are for passengers traveling with no check-in baggage. Passengers with check-in bags just have to add P200 to the fare.

Once again Philippine Airlines is offering its seat-all-you-can promo. Still it has limited seats so hurry now! There is also their newest promo fares for domestic destinations. You can book and buy tickets at their website – http://www.philippineairlines.com/. Or you may call PAL Reservations at (632) 855-8888 or any Philippine-based sales ticket office or travel agent. For sales and ticketing from 21 to 30 April 2009. For travel between 01 June – 15 December 2009.

Travel must be completed by 15 December 2009. See table below for the one way fares in PHP.
SECTOR FARE BASIS BCC ALL-IN ONE WAY FARE (PHP)
MANILA – CEBU or VV WXX W 488
MANILA – ILOILO or VV WXX W 488
MANILA – LAOAG or VV WXX W 488
MANILA – LEGASPI or VV WXX W 488
MANILA – BACOLOD or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – DUMAGUETE or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – KALIBO or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – PUERTO PRINCESA or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – ROXAS or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – TACLOBAN or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – TAGBILARAN or VV WXX W 788
MANILA – BUTUAN or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – CAGAYAN DE ORO or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – COTABATO or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – DAVAO or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – DIPLOG or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – GENERAL SANTOS or VV WXX W 1888
MANILA – ZAMBOANGA or VV WXX W 1888

Prices above are inclusive of insurance and fuel surcharges and VAT. Exclusive of Airport Security Fee and other fees that will be collected at the airport.

Here are the conditions of the said promo:

1.    APPLICATION
*            Valid for one way and combinable for roundtrip travel on economy class.
*            Restricted for sales and ticketing in the Philippines.

2.      RESERVATION/PAYMENT and TICKETING
*            Open-dated tickets and go-show not allowed
*            Non-refundable but upgradeable to a higher fare type. Re-issuance fee waived.
*            Downgrade/re-routing allowed. Re-issuance fee must be collected.
*            Re-issuance is allowed at PHP600 per ticket
*            No-show surcharge is PHP600 per sector

*            Rebooking is allowed at PHP600 per sector
3.      TRAVEL VALIDITY
*            Valid for travel from 01 June to 15 December 2009.
4.      OTHER DISCOUNTS
*            No other discounts apply except for Senior Citizen and Infant without seat.
5.     NO MILEAGE ACCRUAL
What are you waiting for? Book your flights now and experience the service of one of the most respected airlines around the world!