kayak, mobissimo, sidestep.com
cheapoair.com, lessno.com (less money, no hassle). itasoftware.com
expertflyer.com
** farecompare.com
farecast.com
yapta.com
usaca.com (US Air Consolidators Association)
milesmaven.com
awardgrabber.com
lonelyplanet.com-- Thorn Tree Travel Forum
virtualtourist.com
IgoUgo.com
flyertalk.com
flightstats.com
--------------------------------------------
p.16 to choose the right vacation: besttripchoices.com
p.41 In general, the cheapest days and times to fly are Tue, Wed, and Sat afternoon.
The timing of when you shop for tix can affect the price as well. The worst time to shop is on the weekend--which is when many other people are also shopping!
Airlines tend to file price increase on Thursdays to see if competitors will match these increases over the weekend. If rival airlines don't raise their fares, the price hikes can be rolled back by Monday morning before business travelers start buying again. Fare sales typically get announced and loaded into computer reservation systems on Monday, and sales often expire on Friday. So, in general, Mopn, Tue, and Wed are the best days to buy.
p.64 Y-Up fare
The quickest way to find Y-Up fares is to use FareCompare.com: "First Class Airfare Yup"
Also try ExpertFlyer.com.
p.65 On international flights, upgrades are harder tos core, though US Airways and some other airlines sell them for about $500 on the day of departure if there are empty seats. There aren't overseas Y-up fares, but there are ways to get a seat you can sleep in at a discount.
Airlines form "code-sharing agreements" with other carriers and put their own flight code on a partner's flight, then sell seats on each other's planes. Delta might have a seat to sell on an Air France flight that it prices a lot less than Air France, or vice cersa. The inventory that Air France has might sell faster than seats offered by Delta. Even though they are selling seats on the same airplane, two partners often price the seats differently. Use those discrepancies to your advantage.
p.68 The best source for reliability of different flights is at flightstats.com shere you can check the history of a particular flight, a particular airline, a certain city, and a specific route.
p.80 In recent years, however, savvy frequent fliers have switched to hotel-connected credit cards that allow you to voncert points into airline miles, sometimes ar facorable rates. Hotels can be a bigger portion of the cost of your trip than airfare, and using your miles toward hotel awards can save you lots of money. One of the most popular of this breed of card is the Starwood AE card, which earns one point in Starwood's hotel program for every dollar you charge on your credit card. With these points, you can get free and discounted rooms at Starwood hotels anywhere in the world, in cluding the Sheraton, Westin, E, Le Meridien and Four Points chains. You can alo easily convert yout Starwood points into airline miles at dozens of airlines around the world.
But you may never want to convert those points to miles. Instead of fighting with airlines for free seats with limited availability, blackout dates, and other restrictions, use your points for the cost of hotels on your trip, and buy airline tickets. You may get more savings from your points that way.
p.94
power buying:
If iI'm planning a multicity trip, will the order I visit cities afffect the price?
Have I checked the reliability of the possible flights?
Power planning: print out directions for places I kow I will be visiting. Even if you are using taxis, you might want MapQuest or Google maps showing the route, so you know if your driver is taking you astry.
p.98 Travel insurance
squaremouth.com, totaltravelinsurance.com, insuremytrip.com
p.112 Critical Packing Rules
Never put valuables in checked luggage.
Never check prescription medicine in your luggage.
Keep an inventory of what you have packed so you know exactly what needs replacing if the bag goes missing.
Note exactly what your bag looks like.
Weigh you bags before heading to the airport.
Check the dimensions of your bags.
p.129 Baggage delay
If you are going to be without your bag for some time, ask the airline for help with incidental expenses and discuss the policy on replacement clothes and other needs. Policies vary. You may think the airline will reimburse you for clothes for a big presentation the next day, but some offer only a bathtoom-amenity for the first 24 bagglage-less hours, then $25 a day for 3 or 4 days.
p.134 If you bag is lost.
Insist on temporary help, such as toiletries or an allowance for clothes. Some airlines won't offer unless asked.
p.168 Bumped
The airline hasd no reason to offer volunteers more than $400. Involuntarily bumped passengers can demand cash for the penalty on the spot, but most don't know that and settle for the vouchers airlines push.
I you do get bumped"
*Get a confirmed seat on the next available flight. Don't settle for standby.
*If you have to stay overnight in a city that's not your home, you are entitled to a hotel room and meals from the airline.
*Always demand cash; the airline can write you a check on the spot. If you voluntarily give up your seat, however, you can't demand cash.
*If you are about to get bumped and you absolutely have to be on that flight, sweeten the pot for passengers with confirmed seats. Throw in some cash.
p.173 If involuntarily bumped, airlines must pay passengers 200% of the fare, including taxes and fees, for that particular flight (not the whote trip), up to a maximum of $800. The compensation is only half as much if the airline can get you to your destination within 2 hours of you original schedule for domestic trips, or 4 hours of your international trips. If the airline can get you on a nother flight arriving within one hour, there's no compensation.
p.176 This is a case where it does pay to ask the gate agent if any upgrades are available--for purchase, rather than for panderring. Seat assignment in premium cabins cab cange quite a bit right up until the door to the airplane closes. Some high-fare customers may not show up, since their tickets usually give them flexibility. Some customers who had won upgrades may have taken an earlier flight or canceled at the last minute. Sometimes seats are reserved for airline crew members or airline executives who end up making other plans. It's worthwhile to check at various points in your wait at the airport if you are hungry for an upgrade--when you get to the airport, when you get to the gate, and just before you board.
p. Make sure you give the flight attendant your final destination, or see if the bag can be "gate checked" so that you can retrieve it on the jetway along with strollers. And when you get a claim check back from the flight attendant, make sure it shows that the bag is checked to a place you want it to go. (SAN instead of SAT, for example)
p.197 During flight
Drink something each hour on a flight.
Move about the cabin periodically. If you can't, exercise your legs while sitting. Most airlines now have exercise suggestions in seatback pockets.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which dehydrate.
Doctors advise older passengers to take aspirin to thin the blood.
Consider knee-high compression socks, which aid blood flow in the legs.
p.203 Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that helps control the body's internal clock. It's released by our bodies based on sunlight--nighttime yields the release of more melatonin.
p.206 Complaint
Never tell an airline you'll never fly them again.
Always tell the airline what you want in compensation and be realistic.
If you want something, be specific.
p.210 DOT complaint: airconsumer @dot.gov
The DOT sends copies of every complaint to the airline involved, so involving DOT may be helpful to consumers frustrated by unresponsive airlines, particularly hard-to-each foreign carriers. DOT officials decide if the complaint falls into a category requiring government investigation.
p.254 The best perks
Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong first-class lounge, called The Wing, has been voted the best first-class lounge in the world by companies that survey travelers. The lounge includes a noodle bar, library, and a bath facility dubbed "the Cabanas."
In frankfurt, Lufthansa's first-class terminal is a separate facility that doesn't look atr all like an airport ternimal. Eith leather seats in the lobby, halogen light, cocktail glasses filled with nuts, and jazz playing in the backfround, there's nary a "Lufthansa" sign visible. On arrival, a valet takes your luggage and parks you car. An attendant greets you, walks you through a private security and immigration check and tells you when it's time to leave. You can enjoy a bubble bath with a rubber ducky or have a smoke in a cigar room. There's gourmet restaurant with white tablebloths and waiters. And a few minutes before departure, you are driven to your airplane in your choice of a Mercedes or Porsche for abording up the staircase used by baggage handlers and pilots, bypassing the herds and hordes completely. Lufthansa says about 300 passengers per day use the ternimal, which employs 200 people. The facility opened in 2005 and Lufthansa says that in its first 2 years, sales of first-class tickets increased more than 40 percent.
Lufthansa gound that the lounge has prompted passengers to arrive twice as early for flights than the airline planned--ninety minutes instead of an anticipated 45 minutes. Some come hours ahead to enjoy the restaurant and bar with 80 kinds of whiskry. On New Year's Eve, a couple with first-class tickets came to dine, then canceled their tickets for a full refund and left the airport. It was so successful that Lufthansa opened a similar first-class terminal in Munich.
Air France "L'Espace Premiere" service at CDG. a brass hotel cart for baggage and personalized greeting by airline attendants who study passenger lists in advance. One attendant escorts a Premiere customer through a special first-class security line and takes the passenger to a Premiere lounge, where a French immigration officer in plainclothes does a passport check. First-class passengers can arrive only 30 minutes before international flights and still make a flight.
Virgin Atlantic Airways: "Clubhouse" has a free beauty salon, offering facials, haircuts, massages, and other pampering by appointment.
p.258
American Airlines has special concierge handling called 'Five Star" service availabl e at LAX and JFK where an airline representative meets you, shuttles you through check-in and security screening, and on to a gate or into an airport club. The airline sets up the service for movie studio VIPs, and American doesn't advertise the service. You won't find mention of it on the airline's Web site, but it is available to anyone in the know. 877-578-2702.
Private firms offer similar services to the public as well as the rich and famous. Airport Assistance Worldwide (888-444-4919) or www.airportassistance.com) is based in LA but lists the more than 140 airports where it has agents available worldwide. Basic service can be arranged for as little as 95 dollars, plus tips. The agents will meet clients at the curb and help them get to a lounge or gate, carry bags, watch children while you make a pit stop or whatever else you need them to do. Often they have greased the wheels a bit with airlines--good concierges know airlines agents and will be ready with boarding passes, baggage tags, and anything else needed for the trip. Using the service allows you to bypass any check-in lines, and perhaps even bypass security lines. The concierge may just look official or be pushy, moving clients to the front of lines without any conscience just by appearing authorized to do it.
p.262 We often get wrapped up in the expense of travel, in opening the wallet at every turn and spending far more than we are accustomed to paying for food and services at home. But travel is an adventure, and I often think people could enjoy it a lot more if they didn't worry about being frugal all the time. Sure, you have to watch money when you travel, but you can make the trip far more enjoyable if you spend a bit more in wise ways. Treat yourself--there are way to get the star treatment without paying outrageous prices.
p.265 Hotel upgrades are available to those who ask. Hotel industry experts say that rather than trying to be aggressive about upgrades, hotel employees respond better to indirect, low-key requests. "Gee, I'm so tired.... Last time I was here I got to stay in one of your suites and it made my day.... Not any chance you might have a suite available is there?" You get the idea.
If you hare checking in for a long stay, don't expect an upgrade. The best chances for an upgrade often come when you check in lsate for short stays--there's little chance the hotel is going to sell the empty suite at that point.
p.268 Did it make sense to boko a hotel $20 cheaper if you spend $30 in cab fare during your trip? The lack of smart shopping can leae you overpaying for a subpar property.
p.274 Most of the hotel industry does care about customer service, and your best bet--always--is to ask. If a room isn't to your liking, you can often be moved, repaired, or even upgraded.
p.288 Cruise
shoretrips.com
cruisecritic.com
cruisemates.com
p.300 Web sites
For shopping
AirlineConsolidator
BookingBuddy
CheapoAir
Cheaptickets
ExpertFlyer
Farecast
FareCompare
Lessno
SquareMouth
USACA
Yapta
For flight info and tracking
FlightArrivals
FlightExplorer
FlightStats
FlightView
Fly.FAA.Gov
FlyteComm
For frequent-flier program help
AwardGrabber
FlyerTalk
FrequentFlier
InsideFlyer
MilesMaven
Yapta
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