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How to Reduce The Cost Of Your Vacation
Reducing the cost of your vacation requires only that you follow
this one simple rule: Be flexible! Specifically:
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Plan your vacation around the airlines, not your job
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Don't fly on the days on which everyone else is flying
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If possible, take advantage of chartered airlines
Many people don't fully understand the concept of chartered
airlines, which are basically airlines that have one, specific purpose-- to get you from Point A to Point B
as quickly and easily as possible, and yes, that means direct flights when possible. In addition, most of
their aircraft are the same ones you're already accustomed to-- 737's or larger. Finally, their flight
schedules are based entirely upon supply and demand. As a result, they may not fly to your desired
destination every day, but they probably fly there at least once or twice a week, and your choices of
stay might be 3, 4, or 7 nights.
So you may be wondering, "If charters are going to limit my choices, why would I want to use them?
Consider this:
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If the charter is leaving from a major airport, then the vast majority of flights are direct flights.
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Charters run specials pretty much all the time. In fact, a round-trip ticket to Cancun, for example, can be as low as $79 before tax! Even from as far away as Milwaukee!
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Even if the charters are not running a special (for your specific time frame and destination), their prices are often lower than the major carriers. Again, they fly based on supply and demand, not on a published time table.
So you can see already how it can pay to be flexible: You get a direct flight, at a low price. So-- If you have access to chartered airlines, then saving money is simply a matter of planning your vacation around their schedule!
If you are not able to take advantage of a chartered airline, i.e., your only choice is to fly scheduled air (major carrier), then you can still save money by planning your vacation around the airlines' schedules.
Pause, for just a moment, and put it all together:
Plan your vacation around the airlines, not your job
Don't fly on the days on which everyone else is flying
If possible, take advantage of chartered airlines
Now merge these tips into the planning phase...
Do not book your hotel, or anything else, before you book the air!
If you book everything else before you book the air, then what have you done? You've eliminated flexibility by locking yourself into a set of specific, concrete dates for the airfare! Change fees not withstanding, for better or for worse, you're now stuck with those dates!
Finally, there's one more tip that can reduce the cost of your vacation. It can also reduce a lot of stress, as well as wasted time, and that tip would simply be this:
Take advantage of today's travel agents
The vast majority of travel agencies that have disappeared over the last several years are those that could not keep up with the changing technologies, and/or could not adapt to the changes in today's travelers, or even the travel industry itself.
Today's travel agencies, on the other hand, are well-armed with advanced tools, suppliers, wholesalers and more. The survivors are those agencies that not only keep up with the technologies, but those that remain competitive, despite all of the opportunities for the potential traveler to bypass agents and book online.
If your travel agent is good, then he or she really can save you some money. And time. And stress.
Please take a few moments to see some specific examples that can be easily applied to just about any traveler: Click here
