Getting the best deal on airfares

Because of the inverted-pyramid system of pricing, the earlier you book the cheaper it will be.

Most of us need to get somewhere sometimes, and when getting there involves flying, it also involves paying - usually through the nose.

But, with a bit of insight into how airlines price their tickets and how to make the best use of your timing, the internet and your travel agent, you might save yourself enough cash to actually have a good time at your destination.

When airlines start selling seats on any particular flight, they price them in a way often described as an upside-down pyramid, with the cheapest seats at the sharp end. Once these are sold, a greater number of slightly higher-priced seats become available, and this continues throughout economy class and, to a lesser extent, into business and first class.

It's for this reason that the more empty a flight is, the cheaper the seats are.

Vicky Steinhardt, marketing coordinator at Pentravel, says there can be up to 10 different price categories in economy class, and you, as a passenger, won't see any difference in the product offering. But if you buy two seats on the same flight just minutes apart, you could well be faced with a price difference. On domestic flights the price of a "full-class" economy ticket is usually very close to that of the least expensive category of business-class ticket, and for a few hundred rand you should be able to upgrade.

John Ridler, media and PR executive at Thompsons Holidays, says flight pricing is also determined largely by demand. Friday and Sunday evenings, for example, are usually the most expensive flights, but the airline will practically pay you to fly on a Saturday afternoon. It's a costing system that lends itself well to manipulation.

The internet has greatly sharpened the competitive edge in ticket prices. You can easily book flights - and rent cars and book hotels - from the convenience of your home or office. You can also compare the prices offered by different airlines and find the best deals by experimenting with different departure times.

There are some airlines, like Mango, that try to encourage travellers to book seats online by adding a surcharge to flights booked through other channels, and sometimes airlines offer specials only for online shoppers.

Make sure that when you are pricing domestic flights, you look at and book your outbound flights separately from your inbound flights. Don't assume that you have to book both legs of the journey at the same time. If you book the flights individually, you will have much more room to play around with different airlines and different times, and so get the best deals.

If you don't indicate that you want to go one way only, the search engine will automatically book you on the same carrier in both directions, and this is unlikely to get you the best deal. And prices change literally minute by minute as people around the world snap up and cancel seats.

There are quite a few websites worth visiting if you want to book your own flights. Check out www.flightsite.co.za and www.saflights.co.za, for starters. These normally give you options ranging from the cheapest to the most expensive. You can easily manage your departure times by clicking on a tab and making a selection, and remember to check how many stops you are willing to put up with.

Because of the inverted-pyramid system of pricing seats, the earlier you book your flight, the cheaper it will be. Amanda Hardy, communications manager of Flightcentre South Africa, says by booking early, you will also avoid things like price increases and tax increases, the likes of which Acsa implemented on the first of this month. But bear in mind that sometimes airlines release specials at the last minute because the flight is undersubscribed.

Hardy says scouring the media for deals is a must if you're looking for cheap flights, as the low-cost carriers have fairly regular specials, usually in reaction to a similar special offered by a competitor.

So why bother with a travel agent if you can do it yourself online cheaply and efficiently? Well, for one thing, says Ridler, not everyone has the time or the inclination to trawl the net looking for the best deals. Also, there are people who don't know their way around websites or aren't comfortable disclosing their credit card details.

While it might seem logical that tickets will be cheaper online because the travel agent's overheads won't be factored into the price, this isn't always the case.

Hardy notes that while travel agents generally all have the same pool of products to offer customers, their close relationships with the different airlines means they sometimes get spectacular one-off deals. She says travel agents are also sometimes willing to make a loss on a limited number of tickets to generate enquiries or to increase the buzz around a particular destination.

Steinhardt adds that wholesalers like Thompsons sometimes buy up blocks of seats on certain flights during peak periods which they sell to travel agents, giving customers access to seats at prices that aren't available online.

Air travel might seem like an expensive way to travel, but if you know how to work the system, it doesn't have to be.

If you are a frequent traveller or are dying to get away for a week or a weekend, you could do worse than go to the websites of some low-cost carriers and agree to let them send you mail about deals they are making available. You might need to be spontaneous to take them up, and you might have to travel in the dead of night, but you'll get there on a shoestring.