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We always book air travel with a direct call or online hit with the airline, rather than using a travel agency or any of the online travel services. We've tried them all, and inevitably the direct call to the airline gets us the best price as well as the most convenient routing. The price factor is important, and we know booking directly with the airline has to be cheaper because both online and bricks'n'mortar travel agencies work on commission, and that adds up to 15% to the price.

We started our serious vacation travels before the internet era, and always booked everything ... transportation, hotels, tours, whatever ... through bricks'n'mortar agencies. Often everything went OK, but invariably a glitch or two developed along the way. Several times we arrived at a hotel and found the reservation had never gone through. When our agent booked one- and two-stop flights instead of non-stops, the excuse was always the same. We saved you money by doing it our way. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for the agency, online flight booking came roaring in during the late 80s, we jumped on and have enjoyed the ride ever since.

Now we always book our own flights online. We tried the online travel services several times, but the process was so complicated, we eventually gave up. The name-your-own-price-and-we'll- get-back-to-you game never seemed to work for us. It was like throwing the dice and hoping they come up with the winning number.

Because we live in a relatively small city, our choices for airlines are limited. Southwest has about 90% of the schedules and destinations we need in the US, so that's the first website we hit. For our occasional long trips cross-country or overseas, we do some homework on all potential airline websites. First, we establish an itinerary, often allowing room for several choices of flying days and times. The best deals, of course, are the red-eye flights on weekdays, and they're often our choices.

Before you make any definite plans for your next flights, do your homework on the computer. Try the online agencies and then compare their prices and schedules with the ones you can get by direct contact with the airlines. After you've had the experience of this kind of booking several times, you'll find that it is not only the most economical, but also the most convenient. And maybe a little bit more fun, too.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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