Cheap Airfare

Unless your flight’s being paid for by your mom, record label, job, or someone else with deep pockets, you’ll probably want to spend the minimum on airfare so that you can actually afford to have fun on your trip. Here are three steps worth taking once you’ve decided on your destination and potential travel dates.

First, hit a multi-airline travel search engine (such as Kayak.com, Expedia.com, or Travelocity.com) to determine the current fares for the flight you want. If you can, experiment with the dates—how does flying out on Wednesday instead of Thursday or Friday change the price? Most sites have a “flexible dates” option that automatically shows airfare for dates close to your chosen range. What about airports? If you’re flying domestically, some cities (e.g., London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Chicago) have at least two airports you can fly into, which can save you upwards of $100.

Second, once you’ve gotten an idea of what it’s gonna cost you on the major airlines, check out low-fare competitors such as Southwest, JetBlue, and Easyjet (see box for longer list) and see if they can do better. These airlines are generally not included in searches and are oftentimes cheaper, though you’ll have to forego meals, assigned seating, and/or other “luxuries.”

Finally, visit the site of the airline with the cheapest fare and get the price there. (You never know—that airline might be having a sale.) Now you’re ready to buy your ticket. Unless the travel consolidator is unmatched, buy it directly from the airline to avoid transaction fees.

Bonus Step: If you’ve spent a small fortune on your tickets (say you’re flying to Bangkok for the Thai Beat A-Go-Go shindig), think about getting Travel Insurance in case your plans change.

A note if you have a frequent flyer account with a specific airline: If their fare is, say, $100 more than the cheapest fare, depending on the number of miles you’ll be earning from that flight, it may be worthwhile to shell out that extra cash and simultaneously invest in a free ticket to Europe. Do the math.

To read more about budget travel and learn about the latest airfare deals, check out www.smartertravel.com and www.budgettravelonline.com. If you have flexible dates and consistently travel light (meaning one carry-on), consider being an air courier. Though it has a whiff of international espionage and/or organ smuggling, it’s perfectly legal and not as much of a hassle as you’d think. The flights are on major airlines and tickets are incredibly cheap—the only catch, aside from giving up checked luggage space, is that you have to pay a membership fee, but even with the fee, the tickets are cheaper than you’d find in the commercial arena. Not to mention the courier companies often offer free tickets to members.

Another Travel-Planning Note: If you love visiting cities that offer subterranean public transportation (London, New York, Paris), you might want to pick up a copy of this book, which compiles the maps of the world's rapid-transit systems.

Low-fare Transcontinental Airlines
Here are a few to get you started.

North American: AirTran, Frontier, Ted, Southwest, JetBlue, Virgin America
European: bmi, easyjet, ryanair, skyeurope

Or else you can find a mondo list of budget airlines here.