Airline Tickets

In the world of travel, the Internet has opened up a new world of possibility for exploring travel websites to find the perfect vacation for just the right price. But with so many conventional and new age ways to go about putting together airline travel tickets for a vacation, a quick trip to visit family or for a business trip it can be difficult to know the best way to purchase airline tickets. Online? Through a travel agent? Directly from the airline?

There are actually many different options for purchasing airline tickets that may be the best, depending on your circumstances. Before deciding on how to go about purchasing airline tickets you will want to consider when you are planning to travel, for how long and under what circumstances. From here, travelers can determine how exactly to go about purchasing tickets.

Online discount sites - Websites such as orbitz.com or cheaptickets.com are excellent choices for individual travelers looking for a good deal on a ticket purchased well in advance. Most of the time these websites will purchase so many tickets at a certain price from an airline and will be able to offer travelers a discount if they purchase tickets before they are sold out. Travelers looking to purchase on these websites need to be aware that the flight times may not be the most convenient, so only check out these sites if your travel times and dates are a bit flexible.

Many online discount websites are now offering a combination package deal that allows travelers to save money by purchasing airfare and a hotel or rental car at the same time. This helps the travel sites sell their tickets and will help travelers save a few bucks on travel expenses.

Travel agencies - If you plan to travel in a large group for a business trip or sports outing, going through a travel agency is most likely the best option. Travel agents specialize in setting up airline ticket reservations and do an excellent job of getting a good ticket rate for large groups. They will also help in making sure all the group members can be placed on the same flight and even in the same section of the plane.

Travel agents are also helpful at setting up an entire vacation package. Many agents know of deals on all-inclusive trips that will take into account the price of airfare and will allow for a discount if airfare, hotel and rental car are purchased together.

Student travel sites - Growing in popularity is the desire for high school and college students to travel to foreign countries during spring break and summer vacation. With this in mind a few student travel websites have popped up, such as statravel.com and studentuniverse.com. These websites offer information about foreign countries as well as deeply discounted airfares for students who can show proof that they are a student.

Airline promotional deals - One place that many travelers forget to check out is the promotional deals offered through different airlines. At any given time airlines are usually offering a promotional deal with a discount fare from one major hub to another. If you live close to a hub, this can be an excellent option for purchasing tickets directly through the airline. Most of the time airlines do not offer these promotions to the discount online websites, so these prices will only be available by calling the airline or visiting their website.