‘Early birds’ fly over steep fares

Although there are endless options, air travel very often becomes a painful experience mainly because of the fluctuating, rather jump in fares. The problem aggravates when it comes to change of dates and cancellation of tickets. According to experts in the aviation industry, this happens mainly due to lack of proper planning. “Buying a ticket well ahead of the date of travel can escape the fare jump up to a big extent,” says Joseph Rodrigues, an executive with a leading travel agency. According to him, what is advisable is to book the ticket at least three to six months in advance to avail the best possible deal. At the same time, he advises, “to get a cheaper and affordable price, especially if the trip is planned for seasons like festivals or vacations, do a good research and careful planning”. The easiest way to find cheap flights is to make use of a comparison website to find the best airfare. The fare can vary depending on the time, day and season when the prices take a dramatic turn which would be beyond the reach of the middle class. “Travelling on weekends will be costlier than flying in the middle of the week. As most people prefer to fly during at the end of the week, fares tend to increase during the time,” says C D’silva, an expert with a travel and tourism firm. “What is most important to remember is that try to be as flexible as possible. Even time can make all the difference and bring about saving a lot money,” he says. According to him, travelling with a connecting flight can also reduce the high fare pain. “As with the date of time, be flexible with the route you take to reach the destination. Taking multiple budget flights will be cheaper than a direct flight as far as the fare is concerned,” D’silva says. Presently many airlines operating in the Sultanate have come out with offers for travel to several destinations in Asia and European countries. D’silva says, “This is off-season for the airlines. The offers are lucrative for travellers. Airlines want money.” What is true about pricing in the airline industry is that carriers use complex and sophisticated pricing systems. Raju Aravind, a booking agent, says, many people end up paying high for change of date or even cancellations. “This is a big business for airlines. Most times, it happens that airlines will not have many low-fare seats to substitute with the cancelled ticket,” he says. “Therefore, if you need to change your reservations, the airline may not have equally low-priced seats available for the changed date. To avoid paying substantially more, firm up your travel plans ahead of time,” he advises. The airline’s per passenger cost is the lowest when the flight is full, so carriers have incentive to sell as many seats as possible. At the same time, many a times during off-season, it happens that airliners fail to fill the seats. “This is an opportunity for travellers if they are flexible in their dates and even destinations as well. This is only for those do not have any travel plans,” he says. SAMUEL KUTTY - MUSCAT, JAN 19 -