When it comes to airfare, a little effort can save you a bundle. If your plans are flexible enough to deal with the restrictions, courier fares are the cheapest. Tickets bought from consolidators and standby seating are also good deals, but last-minute specials, airfare wars, and charter flights often beat these fares. The key is to hunt around, be flexible, and ask persistently about discounts. Students, seniors, and those under 26 should never pay full price for a ticket.
Airfares to the US peak during the summer, especially between June and September; holidays are also expensive. Generally, the cheapest times to travel are during the winter and during school sessions, but it depends on the high-season months of your destination. Midweek (M-Th morning) round-trip flights run $40-50 cheaper than weekend flights, but they are generally more crowded and less likely to permit frequent-flier upgrades. Not fixing a return date (“open return”) or arriving in and departing from different cities (“open-jaw”) can be pricier than round-trip flights. Patching one-way flights together is the most expensive way to travel. Flights between state capitals or regional hubs—New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C.—will tend to be cheaper.
If the US is only one stop on a more extensive globe-hop, consider a round-the-world (RTW) ticket. Tickets usually include at least five stops and are valid for about a year; prices range US$1200-5000. Try Northwest Airlines/KLM (☎800-225-2525; www.nwa.com) or Star Alliance, a consortium of 16 airlines including United Airlines (www.staralliance.com).
Fares for round-trip flights to the US’s East Coast from Western Europe cost €440-875, €220-550 in the low season (Sept.-May); round-trip flights from Australia or New Zealand to the US’s West Coast usually cost AUS$1020-1800.
While knowledgeable agents specializing in flights to the US can make your life easy and help you save, they may not spend the time to find you the lowest possible fare—they get paid on commission. Travelers holding ISICs and IYTCs qualify for big discounts from student travel agencies. Most flights from budget agencies are on major airlines, but in peak season some may sell seats on less reliable chartered aircraft.
The commercial airlines’ lowest regular offer is the APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fare, which provides confirmed reservations and allows “open-jaw” tickets. Generally, reservations must be made seven to 21 days ahead of departure, with seven- to 14-day minimum-stay and up to 90-day maximum-stay restrictions. These fares carry hefty cancellation and change penalties (fees rise in summer). Book peak-season APEX fares early. Use Expedia (www.expedia.com) or Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) to get an idea of the lowest published fares, then use the resources outlined here to try and beat those fares. Low-season fares should be appreciably cheaper than the high-season (mid-June to Aug.) ones listed here.
Round-trip fares from the UK and Ireland to the eastern US range $200-750, with flights from London usually cheapest at $200-600. Standard commercial carriers like American (☎800-433-7300; www.aa.com), United (☎800-539-2929 or 800-864-8331; www.ual.com), and Northwest (☎800-447-4747; www.nwa.com) will probably offer the most convenient flights, but they may not be the cheapest. Check Lufthansa (☎800-399-5838 or 800-645-3880; http://www.lufthansa.com), British Airways (☎800-247-9297; www.britishairways.com), Air France (☎800-237-2747; www.airfrance.us), and Alitalia (☎800-223-5730; www.alitaliausa.com) for cheap tickets from destinations in Europe to all over the US. Discount airlines such as Icelandair (☎800-223-5500 ext. 2; www.icelandair.com) may provide cheaper flights, though cheaper flights often mean fewer departure points.
Check Air New Zealand (☎0800 737 000; www.airnewzealand.com), Quantas Airways (Australia ☎131 313, New Zealand 0800 101 500; www.qantas.com.au), and Singapore Air (Australia ☎131 011, New Zealand 0800 808 909; www.singaporeair.com) for cheap tickets from Australia and New Zealand to the US.
Traveling standby requires considerable flexibility in arrival and departure dates and cities. Companies dealing in standby flights sell vouchers rather than tickets, along with the promise to get you to your destination (or near your destination) within a certain window of time (typically 1-5 days). You call in before your specific window of time to hear your flight options and the probability that you will be able to board each flight. You can then decide which flights you want to try to make, show up at the appropriate airport at the appropriate time, present your voucher, and board if space is available. Vouchers can usually be bought for both one-way and round-trip travel. You may receive a monetary refund only if every available flight within your date range is full; if you opt not to take an available (but perhaps less convenient) flight, you can only get credit toward future travel. Carefully read agreements with any company offering standby flights as tricky fine print can leave you in the lurch. To check on a company’s service record in the US, contact the Better Business Bureau (☎703-276-0100; www.bbb.org).
Ticket consolidators, or “bucket shops,” buy unsold tickets in bulk from commercial airlines and sell them at discounted rates. The best place to look is in the Sunday travel section of any major newspaper (such as The New York Times), where many bucket shops place tiny ads. Call quickly, as availability is typically extremely limited. Not all bucket shops are reliable, so insist on a receipt that gives full details of restrictions, refunds, and tickets, and pay by credit card (in spite of the 2-5% fee) so you can stop payment if you never receive your tickets. For more info, see www.travel-library.com/air-travel/consolidators.html.
Charters are flights a tour operator contracts with an airline to fly extra loads of passengers during peak season. Charter flights fly less frequently than major airlines, make refunds particularly difficult, and are almost always fully booked. Schedules and itineraries may also change or be cancelled at the last moment (as late as 48hr. before the trip, and without a full refund), and check-in, boarding, and baggage claim are often much slower. However, they can also be cheaper.
Discount clubs and fare brokers offer members savings on last-minute charter and tour deals. Study contracts closely; you don’t want to end up with an unwanted overnight layover. Travelers Advantage (☎800-835-8747; www.travelersadvantage.com; $10 monthly fee includes discounts and cheap flight directories) specializes in tour and travel packages.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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