top 10 travel tips (Adapted Feature)

Travel Feature

TOP TEN TIPS

Fliers, beware of your choices!

By: Daniel Friedman

 1. TRAVEL PROCEDURES:

Traveling home for the holidays just became more complicated—Spirit and Frontier, both no-frills airlines, just raised their baggage fees.  Does the claim that it’s still cheaper to fly budget airlines still stand, or is legacy the way to go?

Let’s compare a flight on December 12th, after finals, from Tampa to New York area airports on different carriers. Budget carriers, which includes, Frontier, Spirit, and JetBlue, and legacy carriers like Delta, and United.

2. SATISFACTION COMPARISONS:
Please proceed to airline ratings blog post.

        

3. NO FRILLS CARRIERS:

Different airlines appeal to different types of people. For example, people on a budget may stick with airlines like Spirit and Frontier Airlines. These airlines our what the industry calls “no frills”, this means everything comes at a premium including:

·      Seat selection

·      Baggage allowance

·      And yes snacks.

4.  LEGACY CARRIERS:

Often offer higher standards of comfort and reliability, though at a higher price. But recently, carriers like, American Airlines, are copying the formats of their low budget competition in order to keep their customers, charging for add-ons as well.

5. HELPFUL HINTS

Here’s some tips to selecting the cheapest, friendliest, and most comfortable method to travel home for the holidays. In order for a traveler to decide legacy versus budget, one must first compare the fares. In fact, some third-party websites, like Expedia or Kayak, stand apart from their airline counterpart websites in that they often offer better pricing, and more choices from various travel websites.

           6. BOOK OFF PEAK

According to websites like Expedia and Kayak, the best days to travel are often Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday, these are often the days airlines launch sales.

          7. DON’T PRE-SELECT A SEAT

Waiting to choose your seat until the day of the flight or twenty-four hours before; in order to avoid seat selection fees, also take only carry-ons, a

8. CARRY ON BAGGAGE

Avoid paying a fee for checked baggage; although some airlines, like Spirit are now charging for carry-ons as well.

9. PLEASE DO:

If you can’t avoid the fees of luggage, at least consider purchasing your own food. Food on board can cost a bundle, plus the airline food is notoriously mediocre.

10. FINALLY REMEMBER:

·      Book Early, at least six months before travel for best deal

·      Use Travel websites, like Kayak.com, can assist students in cheap travel

·      A budget Airline does not mean it’s the cheapest airline

·      Make travel easier with airline travel apps

·      Arrive to the airport at least two hours before flight to avoid holiday lines

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