Cheap Flights

July 27, 8:47 AMAlbany Budget Travel ExaminerDan Bazile

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 For die-hard travelers, it’s no secret Wednesdays, around 1am, was a great time to land an awesome deal on a ticket. A quick search on the Internet will reveal hundreds of articles about Wednesdays being the best time to strike a good deal. Travel experts like Peter Greenburg from NBC will tell you to avoid Fridays, weekends and Mondays. That’s because most airlines usually raise their fares on Fridays for the weekend. Then by hump day, the fare war between airline companies resets – making early Wednesday morning the ideal time of the week to get your hands on cheap airline tickets.

But times are changing. Airline rates were once published in books with updates every few weeks. Today, the industry is fluid. Like everything else, airfare rates and travel deals are speeding up and ever changing. Cheap deals are now popping up on Mondays and other days of the week too. Airlines are using social media websites like besttraveldeals.net and Twitter to promote their offerings.

Catching a great deal means you have to act fast. If you use twitter you already know it’s a great way to grab a fleeting deal.

For instance, FareCompare began tweeting price drops using 170 Twitter accounts, such as flyfromALB, based on the 170 cities in North America with the highest outbound passenger traffic.

United has been tweeting it’s tware (fare) deals for a while now, with deals that are good for a varying time period, including as short as an hour or until sold out. Just don’t check your guitar.

Not to be left out, JetBlue has launched it’s “Cheep Deals” on Twitter. The airline will announce a new deal every Monday and like all the best deals you have to act fast. These deals will be good until 6PM on the day they are announced.

If you’re not yet on twitter or have no desire to sign up, a quick scan of TravelZoo or BestTravelDeals.net will uncover some travel bargains not found on Twitter and sometimes not anywhere else. Sign up for email alerts at the airlines’ websites or with travel deals sites such as TravelZoo and BestTravelDeals.net. Have your alerts sent to your phone if you aren’t frequently on your email.

Knowing a good deal when you see it remains an important aspect of snagging cheap airline tickets and he who hesitates will probably lose the deal. While there is no longer a “best day” or any one strategy to get a great deal, technology has made it a lot easier to avoid rip-offs and uncover the good bargains. The Internet community has created a virtual “best friend in the know” who always seems to know where the best deals are.

As great as these last minute deals are, booking early remains the best way to ensure you’re on the most convenient flight with your preferred seat choice.