A critical part of the travel budget is transportation and this often includes airfare. The frugal traveler does more than keep an eye on the Internet for discount flights. He or she looks for more creative ways to stretch travel dollars.
Use of free scales
When my husband and I traveled to Australia for the first time, we flew with Air New Zealand. Why? Because the airline offered a free layover at its hub in New Zealand. We had never seen the country and were planning to tour it anyway. In this way, we did not have to pay for round-trip airfare.
The second time we traveled to Australia, we flew Air Tahiti Nui. This airline offered, you guessed it, a free layover in Tahiti on the way there or back. Another place we always wanted to visit.
hidden cities
Free stopovers are a benefit openly offered by some airlines. Hidden cities are not only not advertised, but are actively discouraged by airlines. However, they can be great savings for the frugal traveler.
An example of this is a trip from New York City to Las Vegas. Sometimes a flight from New York City to Los Angeles is less expensive, even though this same flight stops in Las Vegas to pick up more passengers. So what prevents the frugal traveler from getting to the destination he really wants to visit early?
A few things… The luggage will be sent to the destination indicated on the ticket, so this hack is for carry-on passengers only. Also, the traveler must remember that the return ticket must start at their actual destination.
being hit
For the easy-going, flexible traveler, being displaced by a flight is like winning the travel lottery. Usually, there is a trade-off in addition to the fact that you are allowing someone else, who really needs you, to get to your destination on time.
Travelers who know the rules know the compensation offered (check the airlines website), they know the upcoming flights (beware of airlines with once-a-week flights), and can weigh that against the pain of disrupted plans. My husband and I always decide before arriving at the airport (ahead of time so we have to hand in a boarding pass) whether it’s worth it or not. That way we can be the first to offer our seats.
There are ways to increase the chance of being delayed, the simplest being to book a flight that is already pretty full (usually a flight later in the day).
Air travel doesn’t have to break a travel budget. With a little monitoring of discount sites and using a little creativity, the frugal traveler can get more for less.