Although most low cost online flights have somewhat lower levels of service, and rather inaccessible airports, European flights have been attracting many business as well as leisure customers.

They keep fares super cheap. Most likely the fares with low cost airlines are going to be one way. It is wise to book your flight way before the date that you have to travel as this way you are more likely to get the cheapest rate. If you leave bookings until the last minute, fares are almost always much higher than ones that were purchased well in advance.

easyJet is the most popular airline in Britain. In 2009 over 28 million passengers flew with easyJet through UK airports, which is significantly more than any other airline. That shows that there pricing structure is working. They also allow for few restrictions when purchasing tickets, which add to the appeal of a low cost online flight even more. The other airlines that have traditional pricing have a hard time competing with low cost airlines.

In the past many of the older companies stopped service because of the fact that fuel was so expensive. The low cost airlines make money by selling more tickets thanks to the fact that they have such affordable rates. Winter is the slowest travel season for airlines, made more so by the fact that rates will go up to compensate for the likely hood of rising fuel costs.

Many of the older airlines have had to change their prices to try and stay in competition with the low cost online flights. They are losing business at an alarming rate, since the price of everything has went up, as a direct result of the global financial crises and the high cost of fuel.

Pretty much all low cost operators function without paper tickets. E-tickets are the way to go. You pay online or by phone, and give your reservation number. This streamlines the entire process of airline ticket buying. The rate of travel agent sells has also dropped dramatically thanks to low cost online flights. It is cheaper by far to buy the tickets from a low cost carrier, than to go through a travel agent, who works on commission that comes from customers.

With easyJet, people cannot even use travel agents; they must use the airline directly. Without the middle man you save a lot of money. Most low cost online flights do not have hubs like other airlines, thus they rely solely on point to point travel.

The Boeing 737 is one of the most common aircraft for the low cost carriers. By choosing to use one aircraft model, they can reduce costs on maintenance and maintenance crew wages.

easyJet  operates on over 500 routes and have 182 aircraft in 28 countries. The company was founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 1995 and they led the way in using the internet to improve services to customers. easyJet are a highly efficient airline so that results in lower airfares for their customers.

easyJet fly to primary airports throughout Europe and operate on 45 of the top 100 routes in Europe, that is more than any other airline.

There are many airlines that service the United States that offer low cost flights.  They have really taken over the airline industry, as rising costs make it more expensive to travel. People who choose low cost United States flights can save a lot of money by making advance ticket purchases.  The earlier you make your reservation, either by going online, or buying your tickets by phone, then the more money you can save. If you wait too long, you run the risk of paying exorbitant amounts for tickets.

Since fuel costs are so high, many larger, more established airline companies have had to stop their service altogether. They are losing out to the low cost United States flights. Larger companies have had to lower their rates, in a scrambling attempt to keep their head above water. They have had to pull out of certain routes that are not as lucrative as other routes.

Southwest is leading the way in low cost United States flights, by offering great rates and simple ticket buying. People go online and pay for the ticket and all they have to do is go to the reservation window and give their number. Getting your ticket early is key to saving money. You should try to get your tickets six months in advance so that you can ensure a descent price.

Most large airline companies have had to cut costs, and stop many routes, since the cost of fuel is taking up as much as 39% of their assets. With winter almost here, airline companies are in the position to lose even more money, since the winter months are their slowest time.

If you thinking about travel during the winter months to save money, be sure to try to avoid traveling during the holidays. Tickets are generally much higher, and it is insanely busy, as many people visit relatives at this time of the year. A good time to travel, besides the winter months, is during the school year. Since many people have children in school, they do not travel on cheap flights around the United States as much.

By choosing low cost airlines, you sometimes must sacrifice service and the amount of room you have to enjoy. Many people find these small sacrifices to be worth it, since they have the ability to save much money through the low cost United States flights. Another appealing aspect of low budget travel when you are ready to fly to your vacation spot is that many of these companies have few or no restrictions about where and when you can fly to. Unlike larger companies, who are notorious for black out dates and other restrictions, low cost travel takes that out of the equation.

Chinese National Day on October 1 is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the travel industry in China. It is a time when the people of China have several days vacation and millions of people return home to visit relatives.

This holiday period is one to avoid if you are thinking of a vacation in China. The trains and airliners are quite often filled to capacity, or beyond, and it is very difficult to obtain tickets for domestic trips within China.

Another peak period in China is the Spring Festival holiday or Lunar New Year which is normally in January or February. The date of the holiday varies as it is based on the lunar calendar. The next Spring Festival will be on January 26, 2009 which is the start of the year of the Ox. Spring Festival in 2010 falls on February 14.

One good thing about Chinese New Year is if you are in China you can quite often get a

cheap airfare out of Beijing

at the same time everyone is heading to China from overseas. I once got a return ticket to the United States for $250 as flights to Beijing were full however in the opposite direction they were empty.

After the National Day holiday it is probably a good time to find a cheap airfare to Beijing as the winter months are approaching and the Christmas period is still some time away. October is still not so cold that you cannot get out and about in Beijing without thick winter clothing.

Beijing International Airport Terminal 3

For Australian travellers I have checked several travel booking sites to compare flight prices for 1 October and 15 October from Australia. The later date was around $500 cheaper than the peak period. I could find a flight with Air China from Sydney to Beijing for 970.60 Australian dollars on 15 October returning 22 October. The 1 October flight to China costs $1483.

For US travellers it is actually cheaper to fly on 1 October compared with 15 October. The cheapest flight to Beijing from Los Angeles on 1 October was $910 USD. This compared to $1043 for 15 October.

The main thing when looking for a cheap flight to Beijing or anywhere for that matter is to try many different dates on a few of the search engines. Also give your local travel agent a call to see what they can come up with if you are looking to travel to Beijing.

I am lucky enough to be going to Beijing for the Olympics. I grabbed some frequent flyer tickets the minute they became available on the Qantas website. That was a long time ago now.

As I write this post there are exactly 2 months to go until the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. If you are wanting to go and have the money of course it will be easy to arrange flights, tickets and accommodation. If you are on a bit of a reduced budget and need a cheaper airfare you could look at the following options.

Look at flying to into Tokyo/Seoul and then fly into Dalian/Harbin or some other city in north east China and fly into Beijing from there. Or how about going into the south? Look for flights into Guangzhou, Shenzhen and then from there to Beijing. There are also flights from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore into Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing. Start shopping around for the airfares now. Time is running short as you also have to remember you will need to apply for a visa.

In addition to trying some different entry points into China followed by an internal flight you could fly to the above mentioned cities and then take the train. I have traveled in China on the train network and found it is comfortable journey and prices are reasonable.

If you are going to the Beijing Olympics in August leave a comment on this blog. Who knows we might meet up over there.

When you go to your local travel agent you would normally expect them to find you the cheapest airfare. I know from personal experience that this does not always happen.

In my situation I was going to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open. I had done some research on the internet before going to a travel agent. I had left things late so I did not want to chance booking online. After my internet research I went to the local travel agent.

At the agent I asked for them to find me a flight to Melbourne. They came up with a quote which was quite a bit higher than what I had seen on the internet just 30 minutes before my visit. Was it possible that all the cheap flights had gone? I mentioned the airfare that I had seen on the internet and it was only then that the agent did another search and found a cheaper ticket for my flight to Melbourne.

That was not the only time this has happened. I have had this happen on a few occasions now. I always go in with an airfare that I have seen but do not disclose this until after the agent does a search. Every time I have had to ask for them to look again.

This makes me ask are the travel agents looking out for their customer or for themselves. The commission is probably better on the higher airfare.

How would you like to be in the know when it comes to booking your next flights? Do you always want to find the cheap flights? You can learn the airfare secrets from someone who knows everything about the airline industry. The book is “My Airfare Secrets“. I have to admit I have not got a copy myself but I have seen some reviews that say it is reasonable. If you buy a copy you can report back here.

I am being upfront about the above link. It is an affiliate link. I will get some cash if you buy from the link. From my research it seems that the book is useful for people who are new to the cheap airfare game and need to understand the basics.

I have got some cheap flight tips on the main part of the cheapflightscruises.com website. They are just a few tips. What would be great is to get a whole heap more.

If you have any tips for finding lower airline fares I would love to hear them. You can leave your tips below in the comments area.

I have come across a few books that claim to have information that can save travelers hundreds of dollars when booking a flight. One such book is Save on Airfare Secrets Manual. The writer claims to be a fired travel agent who is out to get revenge by revealing a heap of insider secrets to help you find cheap airfares.

Here is what Tony Morrison the author of the guide has to say about he book. “I was a hard-working travel agent for 16 years at a major airline corporation..

…Until they decided to fire me one morning over a completely bogus reason! Here’s my way of saying “no thank you” when they offered me a new contract earlier this year. With my extensive insider knowledge, I’m bringing forth this mind-blowing informational guide on how you can save a truckload of money on traveling — the secrets that only the ones in this industry would ever be familiar with.”

If you have purchased the guide I would love to hear from you, perhaps you can let fellow readers know how effective it has been in saving you money.