Getting There

Okay, guys, this is where some money is going to be saved if you work at it. That airline ticket is going to be a major chunk of your budget, and, as we all know, airline fares are determined by some form of black magic unknown to the flying public. If you are smart and patient, you can pay about half of what the guy on your left is paying for the same flight, and a third of that woman on your right.

I am old enough to barely remember when airlines were really airlines, and planes were airliners, and travel by air was something special. It was more expensive then, but a hell of a lot more gracious and enjoyable. Traveling by air today is a contact sport, bordering on open warfare. Fares are raised for no discernible reason, discounted the next week, and always jacked up ruthlessly before Thanksgiving and Christmas. The reason for all this volatility is, of course, greed. The airlines figure that anyone who has to travel with less than two weeks’ notice is probably on business so they can nail them for a much higher fare. They throw a bone to vacationers by giving them cheaper fares at times when they aren’t able to fill their planes with business traveler cash cows.

The long and short of it is that flying today is often miserable, and tt you’re going to be miserable for that day it takes you to make the “°p across North America and/or the Atlantic and/or Pacific, you may as well go cheaply. Doing this is going to take some looking around well before you go - like three months before, if possible. That’s the time to start if you’re serious, and read the travel section of your local paper, or the nearest big city daily, to keep an eye on things. The factors you will be juggling are the following:

- Price
- Changeability
- Refundability
- How long a stay
- Standby or reserved
- Point of entry to Europe
- Point of exit from Europe
- Which airline
- Arrival time in Europe
- Other restrictions