Q. Is it reasonable to expect good fares to Europe in late March/early April? Or will spring break travel still keep fares high?

A. Spring break doesn't really have all that much of an affect on European fares. There were heaps of great deals for spring travel to Europe last year, but so far we haven't seen anything as good. We did find some pretty decent consolidator fares from 1800FlyEurope.com, good for travel through March 31. Of course they don't bother to include taxes, so fares appear deceptively low at first glance, but still. Factor in those taxes and you've still got some of the best spring fares so far, and lower than what you'd find on Kayak, Orbitz, and the rest of the gang.

But who can say what wacky fares the airlines will throw our way come late winter? In the meantime, be sure to sign up with Airfarewatchdog to receive a fare alert to be notified whenever we spot deals to your preferred destinations.

Q. I'm about to take my first business trip to Phoenix and need to rent a car. I'm accustomed to prices for a medium-sized car in the $18-$22 per day range for most of the locations I travel. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded when I looked today and prices were more than double that.  Why are prices so high in Phoenix?

A. It's because rental car companies have reduced their fleets and they can charge more for their product. But that brings up the question: why have airlines not been able to jack up fares the same way? the difference is that renters are a captive audience. Consumers can decide to stay home, but once they decide to fly somewhere, unless they want to take the public bus or have a friend who will loan them a car while they're visiting, they have no choice but to rent. The rental car companies have the upper hand.

Q. Why can’t Delta Airlines compensate customers better when something goes wrong? Here was our situation: Family of 5. Child 5 years old, and twin infants. Getting to our destination was uneventful, however our trip home was a nightmare! After waiting to board the plane for about an hour, we were told the plane we were to fly out on arrived with a flat tire, and would not be fixed until the next day. Delta offered to put us up in a hotel. The shuttle bus took an hour to arrive. We got to the hotel, and it was a dumpy motel. The room was filthy. We asked for two cribs, they only had one, and that one was broken and very dangerous to place an infant in, and we were still charged for the crib. The next morning our flight was to leave at 6 a.m., and shuttle service began at 5 a.m. We got to the airport, and we waited in a long TSA line and by the time we got to the counter to check in, we were told we were too late to board the flight, and the next flight was 11 hours later! Finally, after a month of continuous complaining, we got $100 off our next trip with Delta.

A. First of all, Delta is not obligated to put you up in a hotel (there’s no law that says they must do so). You might think it’s the least they can do, but Delta could argue that a flat tire was an unforeseen “act of God” (the plane might have run over a piece of metal on the taxiway or who knows what) rather than “poor maintenance” which would be a different matter. It seems that your beef is more with the hotel than with Delta. Did you ask for a cleaner room? And I guess you don’t travel very often, because you should never get to the airport less than an hour before flight time (leaving for the airport an hour before flight time isn’t the same thing). Next time, take a cab if the free hotel shuttle won’t get you there in plenty of time. I do wish that nothing bad ever happened when people fly, but in this case another airline might have done less than Delta did and you brought some of this woe upon yourself by bad planning.
 

Q. How do the airlines set their prices? After seeing airfare for a particular schedule jump 100% from the time I started my search to when I actually tried to book it 3 minutes later, I was given the old "supply and demand...someone somewhere must have book a seat in that span, and that caused the jump." How is that legal or possible? 

A. We’ve heard this story time and again. Airlines only sell a certain small number of seats at their lowest fares. A flight might have a dozen different economy class fares, with a certain number of seats available at each fare. The price of each fare class can be set throughout the day, plus the airlines employ dozens of airfare analysts who do nothing all day but adjust the number of seats available in each fare class. That’s why it’s so important to check fares many times throughout the day and over a number of days if you can’t find what you believe to be a reasonable fare. A fare might be $300 one minute, and the next it could be $200. Since airlines were deregulated in 1978, they are free to set whatever prices they wish.

Q. I’m finding that flights from Washington to almost anywhere in Europe are quite expensive for travel this summer. Washington to Paris is $1100 or more including taxes. Should we wait to buy? Will fares come down? 

A. Two summers ago, $1100 summer fares to Europe would have seemed like a bargain, but last summer fares from the East Coast from Europe came way down, often to the $700 range. However, we noticed that average fares from Washington Dulles to Europe were higher than from other airports. It’s impossible to predict if airfares will come down, especially to Paris, which has typically been more expensive to fly into than other European cities such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Zurich and Madrid. United recently offered summer fares from Washington to Madrid for summer 2010 travel for just $600 including taxes on nonstop flights, which is a good deal. Airfarewatchdog suggests that you be somewhat flexible in your destination and land where it’s cheapest and then perhaps take a train or low cost European carrier onward. And check fares on your desired routes every day starting next spring, because airlines often have “flash sales” that are unadvertised. Be sure, also, to sign up for our free fare alerts on Washington to Europe routes.

Q. My son will be spending next semester in Europe and I am trying to find flights for him. I’ve discovered in several instances where flights from the U.S. on SAS are at least $100 cheaper than the identical flights booked through its partner United. Why is there this differential and, more importantly, is there any reason why I should book through United instead of SAS?

A. This is a code share flight and there's no reason why you shouldn't buy the fare from whoever is selling it for less. Airlines buy blocks of seats on other airlines for a set price and then are free to sell them for whatever they wish. We've seen fare differences on various routes for much more than $100 in the past. A good way to identify code shared flights is by using Orbitz.com, which will sometimes show you the exact same flights at different prices on different airlines.

Q. I haven't been able to find a deal from Orlando to Chicago one-way for holiday travel. Can you help?

A. Peak holiday fares on that route, last we checked, are indeed sky high, but they might come down since there are so many airlines flying the route, so keep checking. Meanwhile, you might consider flying from Orlando to Rockford, IL on Allegiant Airlines. Last we checked, there were $99 one-way fares even on some peak holiday days. Beware, though, of Allegiant's extra fees, including one for booking online! (You can avoid this fee by buying your fare at the airport). Allegiant flies to lots of smaller airports, some of which are near large cities, mostly using nonstop flights.

Q. I found a hotel plus flight package to Mexico with better flight times and a lower cost than buying the flight alone from the airline. I’m staying with a friend at his condo, and wonder if it would be a problem if I bought the package and didn’t use the hotel? I could always keep the hotel as a backup, but I just don’t think I’ll need it.

A. We frequently find that air plus hotel packages are cheaper than buying the air alone. This is especially true with last minute deals available at Lastminute.com. If you’re worried, you could always check into the hotel and just not sleep there, but I see no reason why you should be compelled to do so.

Q. I have been looking for summer airfares from Los Angeles to Madrid for my family for four. Here’s my question: when I look on Kayak.com and Orbitz.com I see fares are quite high (at least too high for me) at $1129 round-trip including the tax. However, I see I can fly on many days in July from LA to Washington’s Dulles for $238 with tax and from Washington to Madrid on United for $699, saving almost $400 for the four of us. So why didn’t the search engines show me this possibility and is there any reason why I can’t book two separate fares?

A. First off, summer fares to Europe right now are much higher than they were last summer, especially to Madrid, which was the bargain capital of Europe airfare-wise. So they might come down. I’d try checking in the early spring and keep on checking. Second, most airfare search sites just aren’t sophisticated enough yet to combine two different flights on two separate airlines. And third, be sure to leave enough connection time between your flights in case one of them is delayed. In general, it’s a somewhat risky business to assume all your flights will operate as scheduled and unless the savings are truly dramatic (or you’re willing to overnight in your connecting city to give yourself plenty of wiggle room), the strategy you’re suggesting might not be worth it.

Q. I’m flying into Boston next month and am wondering how much it costs to take a cab to the city of Cambridge, which MapQuest tells me is only a few miles from the airport. Any idea how long travel time would take? Or should I just take public transport (which I discovered only costs $2)? How long is the ride on the subway?

A. Cabs leaving Boston’s Logan Airport must pay rather hefty fees and tunnel tolls (they have to pay for that Big Dig somehow), so your ride might easily cost $25 with tip but with no traffic should only take 20-25 minutes. The “T” (Boston’s public transit system) might take about 30-35 minutes to Harvard Square in Cambridge and does indeed cost $2. There’s a free shuttle bus from the airport to the airport station. Plus, riding the subway is better for the environment.