There's been plenty of buzz about cheap airline tickets, courtesy of a so-called "airfare war." So why is it still hard to find inexpensive flights?
The airlines certainly alerts consumers when they're in the midst of an airfare war, but often times, it's very hard to lock in those prices. Travel industry experts say there's reason: Those airfare wars are, in reality, more like airfare skirmishes.
"The fare wars have a dual purpose," said Steve Danishek, travel expert. "In some cases the fare wars are actually designed to fill up seats, but the other 50% of the fare war is to get you to pay attention."
Once they've got your attention, it's up to the traveler to be savvy about how to reel in the savings.
"The airlines don't have to put very many seats into the market in order to have a fare war," added Danishek. "There's no regulation that says you have to put 5% of your seats out there. In fact, there's no regulation. The airlines control the number of seats. They could have one seat and have a fare war."
When there are seats available, often they are during times and to locations that are less than ideal for many travelers, especially people searching out vacation spots.
He also says most airlines sell their reduced seats as singles or in odd numbers, which can be tough for couples or families of four. Danishek suggests families book their seats just one or a few at a time in order to save the most money.
Danishek warns prices are steadily rising, not just for airline tickets, but for hotels and car rentals, too.
"Everything is starting to come back up," he said. "We're not going to see the deeply discounted seats we saw last year this year. And next year is going to be even fewer."
One glimmer of good news: There are still plenty of good deals to found on board cruises.
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