Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

Think those sale airfares are cheap? Think again!

by Grant Martin (RSS feed) on Feb 4th 2010 at 9:00AM

Nary a day goes by when we don't receive another email at Gadling from an airline or travel agent trumpeting the latest sale fare to this season's hot destination. Fares like $215 to Barcelona, $199 to London and $400 to Buenos Aires tickle our travel fancies, filling us with the dream that we can score a dirt cheap international ticket and jetset away for an action packed, budget weekend.

Click through those links to the booking page, however, and your miracle sale fares will evaporate. But where did these original, quoted prices come from? Lets take a look.

In an advertisement (ie, email) that an airline sends to you, airfares are often only quoted one way. So the $215 fare that you see to Barcelona above is actually $430. That's not a bad price until you also note that taxes and fees aren't included, which for any transatlantic destination is a least $100. That pushes the price up to $530.

But that's still a good sale price, right? Maybe not. Yesterday's Air France sale advertised fares from New York to Madrid for $239. Making the ticket round trip with fees included (say, from March 3rd to March 10th) brings the price up to $570. That same fare on British Airways: $518. Air Europa (who?): $520. What kind of a sale is this?

The lesson here is that it's important to keep both the advertorial angle and the competition in mind when considering a sale fare. Airlines send these emails out to get your brain engaged, drag you into their site and make a sale, but a good consumer does her homework, compares prices and knows when a fare is truly outstanding.

What works
You can throw nine out of ten of those sale emails into your trash bin as soon as they reach your inbox. Instead, set a fare alert on Kayak or Orbitz for low fares between key target cities (example: New York - London for under $300) and make sure it's set to alert you every day.

Subscribe to newsletters like Airfarewatchdog and browse the wealth of fares available at Farecompare. They both have twitter feeds that you can follow as well. Keep an eye on Flyertalk for dirt cheap "mileage run" fares if you've got some extra time.

And last but not least, keep your head out of the ground when you get a "sale" email from the airlines or a travel agent. If the fare seems too good to be true even though it was mass emailed to fifty thousand people, it probably is.

Gallery: Ten pilots you don't want in your cockpit

Filed under: Business, Airlines, Budget Travel

Search Travel Deals

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

neil_metblogs Feb 4th 2010 9:51AM

We had a similar issue with airlines here in Australia quoting prices without taxes. $1 flight (then you see the added taxes when booking). By regulation of the ACCC, all flights advertised now must include the total cost including all taxes and charges.

The same applies for sales tax on retail goods (10% Australia wide) where the item must include the tax. We also got rid of the penny! ;)

Ken Eddy Feb 5th 2010 2:37PM

SO true I bought a ticket with Cheapo and found out later I could have got it with Delta cheaper.

Steven Feb 5th 2010 9:37AM

What I have found so often. These websites such as "Cheap tickets" offer great deals on flights when you enter your dates and destination. That is until you try to purchase the ticket and it comes back " There are no more available flights at that ticket price" Then to purchase the ticket it is hundreds of dollars higher as any other website offered.

Becky Feb 5th 2010 11:05AM

Check out Alligant Airlines, just booked a flight last night, great deal $39 one way, but the total ended up being $77..$12.99 for the seat (can't I just sit in the isle?), $24 in taxes, when broken down ended up having a $12.00 convenience fee - ??? and if I wanted to check my bags...forget it. Be sure to check the total before hitting "purchase", they throw in additional fees like, cancellation fee - or my sister had a shuttle from airport to hotel fee thrown in at the end, didn't notice it and couldn't cancel it after she hit "purchase". $77 was still a good price, so why didn't they just say that was the price.

Terry Feb 5th 2010 11:07AM

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Cheapo ads make me angry when I try to get the fare as soon as I get the email and already there are no more cheap seats available. It's just a game to get you to go their internet site and view their ads. Absolutely despicable. I fly with United just enough each year to maintain my "Premeir" Status, 25,000 miles, to keep getting the few perks that are left with loyalty programs. Loyalty, what a joke, the airlines could care less. They are trapped into a cycle of competititon with other airline programs and have liabilities for hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursed mileage points. They would throw the whole program out the door if they could convince other major airlines to do the same. There is no loyalty.

allan pochop Feb 5th 2010 11:52AM

Buyer beware: Ok, so you save $75, by buying a ticket through a discount agent. Now you have a problem, cannot go at this time. Now your nightmare begins. Attempting to retreive your funds that you paid for the ticket. Discount, says "Hey, we sold you the ticket, but it is up to the airline to refund your money". The airline comments back, "Hey you didn't purchase the ticket from us". This circle will continune's for months.
Planning a trip: Look months ahead of time, research carriers for there fares, purchase from the carrier direct with credit card. Less problems for refund or rebooking.

Dogpaw Feb 5th 2010 12:11PM

Check out Travelzoo.com, too. I've booked many trips with them.

Patti Feb 5th 2010 12:44PM

Does anyone know what he means by "Flyertalk"?

(Keep an eye on Flyertalk for dirt cheap "mileage run" fares if you've got some extra time.)

Nick Feb 7th 2010 1:27AM

Patti -

www.flyertalk.com is a website popular among frequent flyers. This website is basically an online interactive community that gives a lot of good and up-to-date information on a variety of airline loyalty programs, latest offers as well as strategies to maximize your mileage returns. Since the members of this community tend to be people who fly frequently, the discussions will provide you with some really useful insider tips. You should go check the website out! - Nick