C26 - Wednesday, October 12, 1983 - North Shore News MONEY CONSCIOUS TRAVELLERS BEWARE HOW DOES a money-conscious traveller sort out Ld ‘*bargain fares? There’s a lot more to it than reading a big advertizing blurb, making the decis- ion to buy and paying your fare. First, the time of year you intend to fly plays a part. Ob- viously, more people want to visit Hawan in mid-winter than in mid-summer. Sales to Europe are heavier in the summer, Christmas flights are heavier almost everywhere. Those in the airlines who set. seasonal fares research the market thoroughly and set the prices accordingly. Their object is to get the most they can for every seat when the demand is high and get as many seats filled as they can when the demand is low. Next, one aircraft) can Carry passengers at many dit- ferent prices. Don’t be sur- prised if you book ‘‘Skybus"’ and find that there is a first class section, a full-fare economy section, a charter class area and bargain seats to the rear. The only dif- ference is in the service and the amenities — while the first class is having a gourmet meal and complimentary booze, you're investigating the contents of the brown paper bag your wife tucked in your briefcase. I’m always surprised to find that some travellers think that because they have purchased a very low priced iicket that they will be transported in an aurcraf! that resembles a city bus, held together with bub On the buses Two hundred new chee iris trolley buses are trundling Vancouver streets these days The new breed of trolley mdes much smeother than the older models no lurching or jerking andl is more energy efficient And if the power pocos oul a balterv system prves thre bus cnough furce oof orun almost ao kilometre os. ot won'l create a traffic pans oon a major salerse¢ Mon New Management RENO BUSES from $140 DISNEYLAND Ss trom *349 1? & Under RENO AIR 3 or 4 nites HAWAII AIR DISNEYLAND AIR Adanac Tours PAISA Granville ds Van V6H 36% 736-6701 blegum and binder twine. Mind you, the type of air- craft you fly may make quite a price difference. When booking my last trip to Europe | could have travelled a whole lot cheaper than I did by buying a charter package put together by a local tour company. But: The aircraft in question was a narrow- body (probably a 707), not nearly as comfortable as the DC 10 1 eventually booked. The other considerations are: - The airline in question (not Canadian) was running just one plane on a turn-around basis. Should anything hap- pen to delay one flight, down comes the whole house otf cards. Every subsequent flight may be delayed. - Sometimes mechanical dif- ficulties cause days of delay In this case the flight schedule probably won't be resumed where it left off Passengers booked on these flights are simply refunded their fares and told ‘‘Sorry.”’ I had a nice long chat with my favorite travel agent about finding the cheapest available flights. The first thing he told me was, *‘Barb, the six words that send terror into any travel agent’s soul are ‘What ts the cheapest flight to —'"" “We run into situations that make us all look like fools. A couple of weeks ago ] booked a big convention group to Texas Boy, was | pleased with myself 1 goi them a return fate as a group that was less than the regula one was ticket A few da. atter | got them all ticketed and booked, another airline announced a new fare, undercutting my ‘‘bargain’’ by $100.”’ He went on to tell me some of the ‘‘small print’’ considerations. -How may seats are available at this cheap fare travel- wise by Barbara McCreadie By putting the word ‘‘from”’ in tiny print under the adver- used fare the number of available seats can be very small. - Many of these trckets are totally non-refundable Often the prices are quoted are tor the first and last flight ina time block. Great if you want to stay four months but no good otherwise There are all sorts of book- ing requirements that can trip you up Must you stay at least seven days Or must you spend at least one weekend al vour destination How long must you book and pay in advance To contuse things even tur ANOTHER “GUARANTEED” BEST BUY BUY WITH CONFIDENCE IF YOU FIND IT ADVERTISED FOR LESS WE'LL REFUND _THE DIFFERENCE Sreezlis 5 cycle Washer | sat bctay: A 3 temp Dryer ' .: erhriga 4 | \ boat? wos otteed rrvcore! A SUPE? VALUE! OUR AMAZING WAREHOUSE PRICE 96 (,] COLONY Pi wkNISEEENGS Warehouse/Distribution Centre 107% Roosevelt Cre doa the Aviator Moieh North Vancouver OPEN MONDAY THROUGH BATURDAY Gam to 6 30pm BBS. 6738 \ ther, there are 25,000 fare changes daily, in the United States alone. For fares from Vancouver to Los Angeles the agent’s manual has two pages.of print like a telephone book. What’s the best fare? Who knows? What was the best on Tuesday may not be the best tomorrow. The agent does his best but IU'S easy to goot. Smart agents, too, have a well-watered grapevine. The word soon goes out about shaky tour compamies and even if the fares they offer are something out of history the agents won't book the packages. Sure, if the com- pany goes belly-up, the passengers won't lose their money but there’s every chance they may lose their hohday. Perhaps the real key word is avatlable. Seat sales are often sold out immediately. Or sold out on vour travel dates. Can vou change your holiday time” If the seats are ‘‘sold out’’ there may be a possibility of something becoming available later. Do you choose to be wait listed? Perhaps, but only if you are prepared to stay at home if the seat doesn’t become available. Most of us don’t risk waiting for more than a few days. Last: .What about cheap airline tickets that are adver- Your Northshore Independent Travel Agents (NITA) tised in the classified section of the newspapers? These are generally ‘‘second hand” tickets that someone has pur- chased and can’t use. First, although | know of no court case, airline tickets are sup- posed to be non-transferable. You'll likely not be question- ed on a domestic flight but you may be on an overseas flight if your passport and ticket don’t match. The airline may be able to avoid any habhility in the case of ac- cident, injury or loss of property. Many of these are one-way tickets. How do you get home? A one-way economy ticket 1s likely to be more ex- pensive than a return-fare charter — which is how many of these uckets come up for sale in the first place. Most foreign countries refuse to allow entry to anyone without a= return ticket. Straight-looking adults are rarely questioned but young people — beware. How do I book my flights? First, 1 begin checking *‘‘availability’’ before I fix my departure. In the early stages of planning you can be more flexible. ] book ahead if I can. I know that another airline may come out with a bargain when it’s too late for me but at least I have the security of a ticket. Should the airline | book come up with a reduc- present Bargain flights may not be such a bargain tion on my flight they’ll give me the discount in almost every case. I use a travel agent | know to be diligent and reliable or ! do the job myself directly through the airlines. Every airline should know its cheapest fare. I stick to reputable, large carriers. If one of the biggies runs into mechanical pro- blems they just wheel out another plane or get prompt repairs. You can imagine the problems some small charter outfits can incur. I buy flight insurance. And I cross my fingers. cancellation WAIKIK! Air only WAIKIKI $479 8 Days. 7 Nights A & Hotel LAS VEGAS $305 5 Days, 4 Nights. Air & Hotel RENO $285 5 Days. 4 Nights. Air & Hotel TORONTO $199 Departures starting Oct. 27 MAPLE LEAF TRAVEL 736-3555 Reg. 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