In the planning stage, it seems that going on a deserved
vacation can cause nothing but stress; you know where you
want travel, you decide how to get there, but you are not
sure what airline you should fly with. Airline companies
are plentiful and like most competitive businesses their
services vary - your decision could be a difficult one if
you do not know what you want.

Picking an airline to fly with could be one of the most
important decisions you can make. Flying is no more risky
than any other form of transportation, however knowing
that you are going to be thousands of feet above the ground
with no safety net can make for some pretty nervous times.
Many things should be considered when searching for the
best airline to take you on your trip. Some of these
factors include:

Safety Ratings: all airline companies have a safety rating,
undergoing necessary audits of their aircraft and safety
policies. It goes without saying that it pays to steer
clear of any airline with a less than stellar air safety
history.

Cost: with all the other expenses of a vacation to evaluate,
being able to source the most cost effective solution to
reaching your destination and coming home safely makes
researching airline companies and their subsequent
airfares
an all-important task.

Comfort: Depending on the length of your travel, it may be
important or not so important to determine the level of
comfort offered by each airline company. Being able to
stretch out your legs, for example, could be the deciding
factor for a long distance plane trip.

Services: Once again, depending on the length of your trip,
services provided by an airline will vary widely. For a long
distance trip it may be important to you that food be served
regularly on board the airline carrier and that the price be
all-inclusive.

Baggage: Of course when you go on vacation it is nice to be
able to take full advantage of baggage allowances, bringing
home gifts for loved ones. As with most things, allowances
vary with each airline and it could save you lots of money
to check the fine print.

Once your decision has been made there is very little room
for change of mind - so choose prudently the best airline
available to you and enjoy your trip!

The author has flown for over 30 years.In that time she has
discovered a few very simple things that will boost your
enjoyment factor while flying. Joanne Ronnin is enthusiastic
about airlines and
is the originator of Focus Airline

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Air travel is expensive. But I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. There are many ways to save money on air travel - some of them will save you a little, some will save you a lot. Before you book your next trip, see if any of these money savings tips are options for you.

• Consider flying out of another airport. Sometimes the nearest airport does not have the best rates. Checking the rates at one or two of the next nearest airportsmay yield better airfare rates than the airport that is closest to you. It may be worth it to travel an extra hour to the airport to save hundreds of dollars.

• If you have a trip planned for the future, butyou aren’t ready to order your tickets yet, sign up for e-mail alerts from all of the airlines that fly from the airport(s) near you to your destination. You never know when an airline may be running a special to your exact destination.

• If you are ready to order your tickets, order them as far in advance as possible. The cheapest airfares sell out quickly. The closer to the flight you buy your tickets; the more expensive the tickets are likely to be. This is especially true around the holidays.

• If you are booking travel during the holidays, consider flying on the holiday itself. The days prior to a holiday, airfares can be the highest they are all year. If you can fly on the day of the holiday, you can get some of the lowest airfares of the year. If you do decide to book on the holiday, try to book as early in the day as possible in case there are any delays so you don’t miss the holiday festivities once you get to your destination.

• If you are phoning the airline directly for your tickets, ask for the cheapest fare, not just the fare for coach. There may be a cheaper fare in a better seat, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask.

• Fly on the off days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and sometimes Saturday are considered the off days (unless it’s around a holiday). If you can fly to and from your destination on those days, you are much more likely to get cheaper flights.

• Check out the fares on red-eye flights. Those flights don’t sell out as quickly as other flights and therefore may have less expensive fares. Sure, if money were no object, the red-eye probably wouldn’t be your first choice, but then again you may sleep your way through the whole flight. That’s always a good way to spend a flight. And if you combine flying on the off days with flying a red-eye on an off day, you may get a real deal.

• Do your homework by comparing rates on the different websites. Travelocity, Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Tickets and many other websites have discounted airline tickets as well as discounts on hotels, car rentals, and other things related to travel. Take the time to check out the rates for each website each time you book your travel.

• While you are doing your homework, don’t forget to check out the airline’s websites. Sometimes the airline’s websites have even better deals than the discount sites. All this homework takes some time, but it will pay off in the end with big savings.

• Go outside your comfort zone. You may be used to always flying the same big airline, but if you consider one of the newer smaller airlines, you may be surprised at the savings you can grab.

• Before you book your tickets, make sure that the price you have includes all fees and taxes. If you’re not getting the full price of the tickets including fees and taxes, you may not actually be booking the least expensive airfare.

Now that you’ve saved money on your airfare, there are some things that you can do to help save money in other areas of your flight.

• Find out what the maximum luggage weight is for the airline you are traveling, and make sure you don’t exceed it. If you check in luggage that is over the weight limit, the airline can charge you a fee for each bag that is over the limit.

• If you are driving to the airport, plan to leave early enough so that you can park at one of the off site parking facilities that are close to the airport.

• Ifyou’ve got a college age niece or nephew, next door neighbor or someone in that age range who lives nearby ask them to drive you to and from the airport. You can pay them $25 each way and save a bundle on airport parking, and get door to door service to the airport.

• Take your own snacks. If your airline does serve food, they may charge for it, and chances are it won’t be very good. You also won’t be tempted to pay the high price for the snacks you buy at the concessions after security because you’ll already have what you’ll need on the plane.

• Same goes for your reading materials. Bring your own that you already have at home instead of buying them from the airport stores. A flight is the perfect time to read that book you’ve been meaning to read.

This article on holiday travel has bee brought to you by daily travel air.

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New Zealand’s national carrier is Air New Zealand and is the main way of travelling by air throughout New Zealand. New Zealand’s next major carrier is Qantas, the Australian national carrier.
There are other main players in the competitive trans-Tasman market (the market between New Zealand and Australia that crosses the Tasman Sea) they include Jetstar, Virgin Pacific, Freedom and Emirates.

Virgin, Jetstar and Freedom are the budget airlines. Jetstar is a company that is owned mainly by Qantas and Freedom is mainly owned by Air New Zealand. These three airlines are the airlines you would concentrate your search for cheap New Zealand to Australia airfares, but sometimes the major players offer better deals so don’t think that because they are budget they are the cheapest. These airlines keep the prices competitive so you as the traveller will get some great deals if you “shop around”.

New Zealand also has many small airlines to enable you to see some of the wonders of New Zealand including Origin Pacific and other scenic flight airlines from the smaller towns and cities.
Safety standards in airports and on airlines that travel the New Zealand skies are among the highest in the world, with strict air safety regulations. When you arrive in New Zealand there are strict rules and instant fines for bringing undeclared food items or anything that could effect the delicate New Zealand environment and bio-security of the country.

Most airlines leaving from New Zealand airports are also not as strict with the check in times as other countries with higher international safety concerns.
Have fun flying the New Zealand skies. You will enjoy the friendliness of New Zealand airline staff and the service that you will receive.

http://www.newzealandatoz.com
New Zealand AtoZ provides useful New Zealand free information and advice to travellers.
Your complete guide to New Zealand.

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