How to get the best airline tickets online

The best way to get the best airline tickets online is to plug your travel criteria into two or more Internet travel agency sites to get an idea of the price ranges. Examples: Economy Travel. All are connected to one of four giant airline computer systems: Amadeus, Apollo, Sabre or Worldspan. In theory, they have the same information, but fares constantly change and differences are not uncommon.

Below are five simple steps you can take to get the best airline tickets online:

1. Experiment with departure dates and times and nearby airports.
   
   
2. The biggest savings are in last-minute airline tickets. For example, a woman flying from San Francisco to Louisville got a roundtrip ticket for a $297 bid when it would have cost $1,000 for a regular last-minute fare, or $890 for the airlines' bereavement fare. Those who can fly at the last minute on a weekend trip usually get the best fares available.

3. Airlines want more people to book directly from the airlines' Web sites, not from other sites that let them compare one airline against another. That saves them agent commissions, or the expense of staffing with their own reservation clerks. Trouble is, the airline sites are usually inferior to online travel agents such as Economy Travel, which let you search for the lowest airline tickets by plugging in your travel criteria.
   
   
4. If you're flying between cities served by American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, America West, American Transair, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Midway Airlines, Midwest Express, National Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and US Airways, save precious time by logging on to Economy Travel and compare rates on different airlines without visiting numerous websites.
   
   
5. If a low-fare airline such as Southwest also flies the route, be sure to check their site too. Southwest Airlines currently does not participate with expedia, cheapairlines or any other discount airline ticket providers. To make Southwest airline reservations, you must call their offices directly or visit their website.