Flight Blog
Air Travel News and Tips, Business / Industry, Flying, Airplanes, and other fun

Sure, writing about stuff you like is cool. The lucky people get to do that for a living. Tom Parsons, an internet travel entrepreneur, is one of them. He runs a web site about cheap flights. He also gets a few less-than-choice quotes in a recent Southwest Airlines press release (http://www.travel.fresh-coffee.com/flights/286/southwest-airlines-subscriber-fares-ding.htm ).

Quote:

“[Southwest Airlines Product] is an air traveler’s blue light special in the sky,” Parsons said. “Only Southwest Airlines would dare to offer fares this low.”

How much did they pay him for that quote? And after this dedication of allegiance to Southwest, why would I trust him as a source of information about cheap flights on non-Southwest carriers? I know it’s a free world, and a free market. But quotes on behalf of corporations rather than customers compromise the integrity of all the services you offer.

Shilling for the man is a one-way a ticket to the no-credibility parade.

A Flight Club member asked about the best place to find cheap flights in Europe (they suggested www.ebookers.com) … I know of two good places to look, but I don’t know if they are the best (I don’t fly around Europe much, yet)…

I found the Air Fare Checker at betterbidding.com today. It compares Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia prices (and one of the best uses for frames I’ve ever seen).

Find all the Flight Blog posts about finding cheap airfare here: Cheap Flights.

See what happens when you sit down one person to do one thing and do it well? George, a travel journalist already, now spends most of his time scouring the internet to find the inner workings of the internet air fare world. And how good does this guy get? Well, beside the fares he finds ($170 RT from Portland Oregon to North Carolina? Absurd!) he also breaks it down. Check out his analysis of the latest United deal: comes down to bogus.

He also finds such gems as the link to Independence Air’s corporate fare site, which gives you 20% off their regular trip prices.

» Visit The AirFare Report
I found this site over the weekend and it’s awesome. George Hobica, a travel journalist in NYC, surfs the web all day looking for cheap fare deals and posts them. A lot of the flight specials aren’t advertised by the airlines, he says. And many are supposedly that-day-only type affairs … check it out for yourself. He has a newsletter, and posts religiously. Many of the airfares are for travel to and from NYC, but not all. I’m definitely keeping an eye on this guy. I’m also curious what the travel agent community thinks about him ….

I’ve tried them all out, and www.Mobissimo.com is the best. It covers the most ground and finds the cheapest prices. Its interface is simple. It’s for finding cheap what www.indeed.com is for finding a new job.

Be Your Own Travel Agent
To see the same information that regular travel agent can access, fire up your browser and check out these web sites: travelocity, orbitz, expedia, and there’s probably new ones since this draft. TFI’s website is (though I always work over the phone since they are so professional): http://www.lowestairprice.com/.
Be A Smart Shopper
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There are a number of inexpensive ways to make use of the airline industry. The truth they don’t want you to know is that anyone with time and determination can find rock-bottom prices to any destination in the world.