By Kathryn Whittaker
A round-the-world trip remains the world's greatest journey. Fortwo out of every three people, this is the ultimate travelexperience, according to recent research. Needless to say, in aworld obsessed by travel, travelers and travel agents are bothlooking for the cheapest tickets and airfares available.
Cheap airline tickets, in most cases, can be obtained fromwholesale dealers and discounters.
If your requirements are simple - you want a round-trip ticketfrom one place to another, you have a particular airline on yourmind and you have definite dates; then you can go directly tothe source - to the ticket discount agency which buys cheaptickets in bulk from wholesalers and consolidators.
In real life most trips require more planning, and most peopleneed a help from the agent to figure out what would be the bestair ticket solution for their particular case. Cheap airfares toa particular region can often be found with local airlines thatspecialize in that country. Sometimes an agency that operatesand retails tours to a particular country will have a discountagreement with the national carrier and will sell discounttickets on that airline.
With a bit of research through travel magazines aimed at theparticular country of your choice, you can often find agenciesdealing with national carriers for that country. For thecheapest possible airfare to many places the most affordableprices are often found in local travel agencies that deal with aparticular destination selling round-trip discount airlineflights - most likely to the capital of that country and a fewmain cities.
Sometimes you can find a really cheap air ticket with a discountretail agency that specializes in trips to a wider range ofdestinations or to multiple destinations. Through the sheernumber of tickets that they sell they can command a reasonablediscount. However, keep in mind that most advertised prices donot include taxes, luggage fee and airport tax, so the cheapairfare may end up being not so cheap. Best to read the smallprint to clarify exactly what you are getting before youpurchase a ticket.
Another trick of the trade is for agencies to grab attention byindicating the lowest possible prices, which only apply onspecific dates in low season. You’ll find that all agencies dothis, even the most expensive ones so, don’t be surprised if youget a quote at double the price from what was displayed in thead.
Airlines usually publish their scheduled flights and prices sixmonths in advance. If you have decided on a destination it canbe a good opportunity to get an ‘early bird’ discount by bookingwell in advance. Keep your eye on the travel press and alsoairline web-sites. There are often special discounts andincentives aimed at travelers who book online, as carrying out abooking online is cheaper for the company than through anintermediary who will take a commission.
However, although you can expect to get the cheapest air ticketif you start searching many months ahead, there are someexceptions. At times like Christmas or other periods of highdemand the prices are usually inflated and planes fill up manymonths in advance. If you can be flexible and travel on actualholiday days such as Christmas day or New Years Eve you can findsome pretty attractive discounts
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