Book in advance to beat rising airfares

Mumbai: Air travel may have got more expensive, but let that not stop you from getting good bargains on your air ticket. Even as airlines increase fares to offset mounting losses, they will still dole out nearly 20 per cent of their seats at discounted rates to stimulate growth and improve revenue. The idea is to know exactly when and how these tickets would be up for grabs. As a result, advance ticket purchase say a month or three weeks prior to the departure date can get you a great deal so is buying a ticket at the last minute (few hours before flight departure).
Take the example of Jet Airways, which on Thursday launched a discounted fare scheme called Apex-21 through which passengers can book tickets 21 days before departure date at attractive rates. Several travel portals also offer the best available deals at one place.
Airlines are also known to slash the rates of unsold tickets at the last moment to exhaust the inventory. These can be available at auction sites and sometimes at airline counters. For the price sensitive traveller who doesn’t care much for onboard food can always opt for budget airlines where fare is cheaper by around Rs 1,000 compared with full service carriers.
Almost all travel portals normally have a calendar detailing the cheapest available fares and one has to visit the sites regularly to choose the fare that suits the pocket.
03/08/08 Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2008