Q. We booked a flight using Priceline's Name Your Own Price. Our flight left at 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday and we, very unfortunately, slept through our 3:00 a.m. alarm. We called Northwest on our way to the airport at 5:30 and they said we would be put on standby for the next flight. When we arrived at the front desk, they told us we had to call Priceline.

Priceline said they would put in a standby request, but that the right to fly was at the discretion of the airline. When we went back up to the desk, we were told that they saw nothing in the computer, would not put us on standby and, oh by the way, your return flight is invalid as well.

I know that missing the original flight was our fault, but can you explain why Northwest would not put us on standby and why the return flight was cancelled?

A. Most likely your "name your own price" fare was what they call a consolidator or bulk fare, and these fares are often "use it or lose it"--they have no value if you miss your flight, and that's why they're so cheap.

Sorry you had this experience. It's one reason why we don't list these fares on Airfarewatchdog.com

Q. We had long-standing reservations for a flight to St Louis, connecting in Atlanta. Departure time from our home city was 8:30 am.

We received an email timed at midnight (which we didn't see right away) and then a 5:00 am automated phone call from Delta telling us the flights had been cancelled, and that we'd been placed on another series of flights departing around noon. It would have gotten us to St Louis within five hours of our original arrival time.

The new timing did not work for us, so I called Delta (and after being on hold for quite a while) the reissue desk allowed us to cancel with a full refund ... since they said that it was an involuntary change on our part.

Is this common? I mean, I'm grateful to have a full refund, but with all the schedule changes in the air today, is it Delta's policy to fully refund if THEY change the flights?

A. Yes indeed, this is called an involuntary refund and most airlines have a rule in their contracts of carriage covering this. If the flight is cancelled, or the time significantly changed (depending on airline, if it's just an hour or two this doesn't apply) you can get a full refund, even on a non refundable ticket.

You'll find this rule (usually called Rule 260) in the airlines' contracts of carriage. So if you feel like the new flight times are so far off the original that you can't make it to the airport in time, or your trip will be futile, ask for a refund.

Q. I am flying to Vegas from Tulsa in November on United. My flight itinerary leaves Tulsa at 1:08 pm arriving in Denver at 1:50, departing Denver 2:55 arriving Vegas 3:50. What are my chances that this flight will be on time and I will not be late for a 6:00pm engagement?

A. On time departures and arrivals vary according to weather (and not just in the departure and arrival cities), time of day of the flight, the airport and the airline.To get a better feel of your chances of landing on time, you can visit the US Department of Transportation Bureau of Statistics webpage, where you can track on-time statistics by airline, airport and flight number. If your flight has a lousy on-time track record, you might consider switching to an earlier flight.

Q: We checked in for our flight an hour before take off time, got our boarding passes from an automated kiosk, and proceeded through security. When we got to the gate, there were no seats, so we went to a nearby food court area and had a cup of coffee and a bagel. About five minutes before the final boarding time (when they were supposedly going to shut the doors) we presented ourselves for boarding but guess what: they had shut the door, and detached the Jetway. They would not let us on. It seems that everyone was on board (except us) and they decided to close the flight a few minutes early in order to ensure an on time arrival. Is this some new kind of airline policy? Are all airlines doing this?

A: I have heard of this happening. Airlines do sometimes close flights ahead of schedule if they determine that everyone is on board. They fill seats of the "no shows" with last minute or standby passengers (often those passengers are paying higher last minute fares, so it boosts the airline's bottom line). Something a bit similar happened to me a while back: they said the flight would be delayed for two hours, so I went browsing in the airport shops, and returned to the gate about 45 minutes after the two hour delay was announced. And guess what: no plane. Oh, they said they had paged all the passengers who weren't on board, and explained that they fixed the problem faster than they expected and just took off without me. I guess the lesson here is don't wander far.

Q. My family and I had boarded our flight to Houston, the doors were closed, and we were ready to go. But before we left the gate, it was discovered that there was a mechanical problem with the flaps. The flight was cancelled. We were put on a plane at 6:30 a.m. the following day. We were told there would be no compensation for the delay, which was a short weekend getaway to start with. Is this normal? Can they do this on mechanical delay. Do we have any recourse?

A. Unfortunately, they can. Consumers in the US have little protections when it comes to situations like this, something completely within the airline's control, whereas in Europe, you would have received several hundred dollars in compensation. I certainly hope they refunded your money, but I'll bet they'll keep the taxes/fees. You should certainly write their customer relations department and ask for a voucher good for a future flight, at the very least.

Q. When I checked for a weekend trip to Toronto one recent Friday, American Airlines informed me that my flight was delayed. Then it was cancelled. I was scheduled to return on Sunday, but there were no seats available until the following Saturday afternoon, so I said the heck with it, what's the point of going. Although I had a non-refundable ticket, can I get my money back?

A. Yes, you should be able to get a refund for sure, even on a non-refundable fare, under American's contract of carriage. You can see links to the airlines' contracts here. Click on the American link and read section 10.

Q. I am SICK of paying for airport Wi-Fi. Most of the time I only need to go online for a few minutes, yet I end up shelling out the $8 or more for a Wi-Fi daypass. And between connections, when I'm short on time, I don't have the patience to fumble around registering and typing in my credit card number. So on a recent trip to Columbia, South Carolina, I was pleased to see that the Columbia Metropolitan Airport offers free Wi-Fi. What other airports are doing this? And why can't they all just throw us this one bone?

A. That really bugs us too! But we're glad to see that so many airports are beginning to offer free Wi-Fi these days. It's the least they could do, after all. Jaunted.com keeps a map of both domestic and international airports where free WiFi is available. Sure, the newly-added international map is a tad on the sparse side right now, but they're always adding on, and - if you know of a Wi-Fi airport that hasn't been included - they encourage tips.   

Q. A few months ago, you guys had really good fares. Now a lot of the fares you list I wouldn't consider bargains at all. What happened?

A: Just as it's costing more to fill up your gas tank, it's costing more for airlines to fly their planes, plus they're cutting routes and seat capacity. So while we do indeed still have some great fares (see our Top 50) we all need to rethink what a bargain is in light of new economic realities. In the past, we seldom listed fares over $300 RT, but everything is relative, as Einstein used to say, and it's time we readjust. It's unlikely we'll see another SkyBus selling fares for $10.

Q. I'm a little disappointed that I have not seen any good fares from Orlando to Paris yet. Is it because there are no good deals to Paris or have I not signed up correctly to receive notice of airfare bargains to Charles de Gaulle or Orly.

A. Not only is Paris one of the most expensive destinations in Europe, but because Florida is such a popular vacation destination for Europeans, cheap flights in the reverse direction are very hard to come by.

As you may have noticed in recent Orlando newsletters, the two cheapest European destinations have been Cologne ($800 in August before the fare went up slightly) and Frankfurt ($644 in September). This represents savings of about $450 and $300, respectively, over fares to Paris and that makes them much better deals on a relative basis, especially since you can probably fly the last 300 miles to Paris from either city for under $100 on a low cost airline.

Be sure to sign up for our International Arrival City alert for Paris. In contrast to the route-specific Orlando-Paris alert (which, as you already know, is rarely if ever activated), this alternative service will occasionally inform you about the best fares we find to Paris from any U.S. airport. You can then consider arranging your own connection to take advantage of any of these deals and often still come out ahead.

Q. We're traveling with our kids to Miami during school vacation next February, planning to leave Friday February 13 and returning Sunday February 22. We do this trip every year, and fares seem higher than they've ever been. Will there be a sale? Should be wait to book? Your advice please.

A: You are traveling over a very peak period, and on a Friday and Sunday, no less.

Fares are not going to come down over a school vacation period. Plus, do you really want the middle seats by the lavatory? Wouldn't you like to all sit together? And wouldn't it be nice to not be stuck on the 5 AM departure connecting through Atlanta?

There will always be unadvertised buy it quick fare reductions (otherwise, Airfarewatchdog would go out of business). But not over peak holiday, school vacation, and spring break travel periods. So swallow hard and plunk down your credit card.

Q. Just before I was about to buy a ticket on Northwest, they offered me travel insurance for a very small amount. I think it was $12.50. It seems a lot cheaper than what I could find on Travel Guard or other travel insurance sites. I'm most worried about the airline going out of business and leaving me in the lurch. Does Northwest's insurance protect me if Northwest goes under? What about the other major insurers? Do they offer protection in the case the airline ceases operation?

A: Travel insurance bought from an airline will, in most cases that we know of, not protect you should that airline go out of business. Read the fine print in the policy of any airline-sold travel insurance and you'll see this exclusion. This is true even if the insurance company underwriting the policy offers such protection in the policies it sells directly. Travel Guard, for instance, writes insurance for some airlines, and will offer protection against airline default if you buy the policy directly from Travel Guard, but not if you buy a Travel Guard-underwritten policy from an airline.

Don't forget that your credit card offers some protection as well, but only if you contest the charge, from your out-of-business airline within 60 days of seeing it on your statement.

Q. We bought a ticket from Lufthansa, but with flights on both Lufthansa and United to Europe recently. On the outbound flight, there was a mechanical problem which caused us a two-day delay. Although there were seats on other airlines (we checked) that would have gotten us to our destination as planned, Lufthansa/United said that since we were on a "non-published" discount fare, they could not put us on those other airlines. In the past when there's been a problem like this, the airline in question did indeed put us on a competitor's flight. What is a non-published fare, how do you know when you've booked one, and do all airlines have this sort of "you buy it, you fly it" policy?

A: Looks like you bought a "consolidator" fare. And yes, the way you were handled was typical in the airline industry. Non-published or consolidator fares are fares that are considerably lower than the fares you might find on the airline's web site or on Kayak, etc. You can identify them either by asking whatever source sold it to you, or by simply noting that it's way lower than what you can find by other means. Sites like Lessno.com and some travel agencies and cruise lines deal in this type of fare (they're also sometimes called "bulk" fares). And yes, most airlines adhere to this policy.

One thing to note however: had the problem happened on your way back from Europe, since it was clearly a mechanical problem (within the airline's control), you would have been protected by fairly stringent European Community laws specifying levels of compensation. In this instance, you would have been entitled to up to 600 Euros (about $900), but again, only if the problem arose when leaving Europe, not flying to.

Q. I often need to fly from Orlando to Grand Rapids, but find it much less expensive to fly into Detroit and drive the rest of the way. Fares to Grand Rapids, even with a stop over in Detroit or even Atlanta, are about $300 more. Why so much?

A. There are far fewer flights to Grand Rapids, than a major hub such as Detroit. That results in less supply and more demand, which results in higher prices. Also, the airlines that serve Grand Rapids are mostly the old legacy airlines, which tend to have higher prices as well. As for the difference in prices, fares go up and down, much like the stock market ... so it just depends on when you buy during the price fluctuations. The airline industry was deregulated back in the 1970's, which is the main reason why it seems so chaotic currently. Websites like ours are good for keeping you on top of what's going on.

Q. Is there an airline that lets you transfer or combine miles or points from one frequent flyer account to another, for free?

A. The only one we know of is AirTran, but only inbetween "Elite" A+ members.

When you earn 20 or more A+ credits flying AirTran Airways within any 90-day period or earn 50 or more A+ credits flying AirTran Airways within any 365-day period, you qualify for A+ Rewards Elite Membership.

The British Airways Executive Club program allows up to four people with the same mailing address to accumulate miles in one account that can be used by any of the members, but that's not quite the same thing.

Do any of our readers know of other programs that allow this?

Q. Do any of the travel sites allow you to do flexible searches for international flights? Most that I have seen require exact dates for international flights. The only way to compare different dates is to do multiple searches. The flexible grids -used by Travelocity and others- showing +/- 1-3 days would also be nice.

A. Actually, Travelocity does offer international flex searches now, just not for all routes. Previously, you may recall, they allowed international flex searches but failed to tack on hefty fuel surcharges, and the Department of Transportation objected and asked them to cut it out altogether.

You might also want to try ITAsoftware.com. although you can't book through them, it's good for reference; and ZUJI.com is worth a look although it prices in foreign currencies and isn't always accurate.

Q. I'm having a wedding in Italy in late September. My fiance and I thought September would be a good month for our relatives to travel to Europe because flight costs typically drop in the fall. Over the last few years, I've been able to find airfares for about $500-600 in off-peak seasons (I live in New York City). I'm a little concerned, though, that I haven't seen much in the way of fall sales yet. In the past, I've seen seen discounted fares offered by now for post-Labor Day travel. A friend recently speculated that the prices may not be reduced this year due to rising energy costs. If you were me, would you tell your guests to wait to buy tickets to Italy or to buy any fare below $1,000 now?

A. As you have probably already realized, nothing about air travel is quite what it used to be. Normally, now would be a good time to start looking for cheaper fall sales, but the September fares I've been tracking just went up rather than down last week after holding steady for over a month.

Most nonstop routes to Europe saw upward adjustments of $30-60 across the board, although a few jumped by as much as $300-400. They may all come down to previous levels again, but a bottom of $600-800 for early fall travel does seem to have been established. If airlines can't sell seats at these rates, they may simply discontinue service at a moment's notice.

None of those fares included Rome, which is generally a rather pricey destination, although less so this year thanks to Air One's new nonstop service from Boston and Chicago to Milan. Fall fares on these routes have long been available for $800, although they have been as low as $700, with connecting service to Rome and other Italian cities for $50-200 more.

From New York, your best bet is often Eurofly whose nonstop flights to Rome, Bologna and Naples regularly go on sale. Back in April, fares for early summer travel were $575 RT nonstop including taxes, so it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable to expect similar deals in the fall, but perhaps not until October or November.

From New York, September fares currently start at $880 RT nonstop with taxes, and these are available even for short weekend trips (e.g. 9/26-28), perfect for a Saturday wedding. From other U.S. cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, you can find fares on connecting service for slightly less.

That's still $200-300 more than you'd pay to get to London, Frankfurt or Paris, so on a relative basis this is not cheap, although with everything in flux, it's simply impossible to know if better deals are forthcoming. Even intra-European fares to Rome are high, so our usual suggestion to try to arrange your own connection through a cheaper gateway may not be worthwhile.

Incidentally, Eurofly also has an on-going sale for August travel with 10-15% off for families traveling together that would suit your nuptials well, so I advice you to contact the airline at 800-459-0581 to find out if they anticipate having a similar sale for September travel.

I hope it all works out for you so you can have the most romantic Roman wedding ever!

Q. We booked our international flight originating from an airport about 75 miles away instead of from our home airport specifically because the itinerary was better and we would only have to make one connection instead of two. A month after receiving our paper tickets we found out that both of our domestic flights had been cancelled and we would have to make two connections each way after all. Even worse, the new domestic flights that they switched us to would have caused us to miss our international connection!

After some serious phone time, we did get booked on a new domestic flight that would arrive in time for us to connect to our international flight, but we had to leave three hours earlier. If we had known that would happen we could have flown from our local airport. Failing that, we could have eliminated the first flight (Louisville-Cincinnati) and driven to Cincinnati instead of Louisville in about the same amount of time. The airline would not allow us to do either of these things without a penalty. It doesn't seem fair considering that they were the ones to cancel the flights and it would not cost them any more (and possibly less if we took only two of the three flights) to accommodate us. To add insult to injury, the flight that we were re-booked on was also cancelled on the way back so we had to be rerouted through Atlanta and arrived 5-6 hours late. Is this sort of treatment typical? It doesn't seem right when you buy the tickets based on the itinerary and then end up with an entirely different one.

A. Yes, this sort of thing is happening more and more frequently. And if the airlines don't watch out, they're going to re-regulated. Honestly, I suggest writing to your congressman, and demanding more consumer protection from the airlines. You can also find a lot of great info on a much needed Passengers Bill of Rights by visiting www.flyersrights.com. Until such a bill is passed, there's not much passengers can do aside from making your case to the airline, repeatedly. Always make sure to escalate your case to a customer service rep, as opposed to a reservationist.

Q. When do you think airline mileage plan points are going to be devalued by the airlines increasing the number of points required for flights?

A. Frequent flyer miles will be harder to cash in from September onward because airlines are cutting capacity 8-12% or more on all seats, and that will reduce the number of frequent flyer seats proportionally. In addition, I've noticed that it's usually very hard to cash in miles on popular routes at the standard 25000 mile domestic seat award level. More often, they offer you the 45,000 or 50,000 "anytime" award level.

On top of that, yes I do think that sometime in 2009 or sooner they'll officially start requiring more miles, especially on international routes. I wouldn't be surprised to see 30,000 miles as the standard domestic award level, and I'm surprised they haven't done this sooner. And if more airlines merge or stop flying, the remaining ones will pretty much be able to do whatever they want with their loyalty programs.

Q. Due to a family emergency last December, I had to cancel a trip and have since been holding a credit of over $3,000 on Spirit Airlines to use toward future air travel. I plan to use it for a family trip to Costa Rica in November. With the major cutbacks in service and personnel that they are having, if they DO go under or they are no longer serving Costa Rica, do you know what my rights are? Would my bank credit card company get involved to recover the money? Any advice for what I should do in the meantime?

A. If Spirit goes under there is no protection other than standing in line at bankruptcy court, which would be fruitless. Because the payment was made last December, credit card protection under the Fair Credit Billing Act would not cover you (that protection only kicks in if you challenge the charge within 60 days of the charge appearing on your credit card statement). In the meanwhile, just hope that Spirit keeps flying. And next time, consider travel insurance.

Q. Why don't you list one-way fares? That would be so much easier!

A. In the olden days of Airfarewatchdog, we did list fares as oneway -- and on occasion we still do, for the odd sale from Spirit, Allegiant, USA 3000 and others  --  but most folks travel round-trip and prefer us to list fares as such. Here's a quick list of airlines that sell all their fares for half the round-trip price that we list:

• AirTran
• Southwest
• Alaska Airlines
• Air Canada
• WestJet
• ExpressJet
• JetBlue

Q. Can you explain what the numbers and letters mean on the fare basis code.
I have a flight booked on Northwest with the code T7RV3N. Can you
decode that? Is there a table that lists the various codes that I can
refer to for future flights.

A. Well, the first letter is the fare class, T for example is a really cheap non-refundable fare. Y means full fare economy, and F is full fare first class. M and B are discounted but more flexible economy class fares. 7 refers to the advance purchase requirement (7 days); the 3 as in 3N means there's a 3 night minimum stay.

TR21M1SN would mean a non-refundable coach ticket with a 21 nigh advance purchase and a 1 night min. stay

As far as we know, there's no hard and fast set of rules as to how the airlines come up with these codes, and they vary from airline to airline.

Q. I bought travel insurance directly from AIG Travel Guard. But then my mother was diagnosed with cancer and I was not able to take the flight. I thought I was covered under the terms of the policy, but the insurance company refused to reimburse me for my non-refundable airfare because my mom is not a US citizen and lives in a foreign country. Is this a common exclusion? I'm a US citizen and I was the one who bought the coverage. This doesn't seem fair at all to me.

A. There are all kinds of loopholes in travel insurance policies, and although it's difficult to read all the fine print (some of which runs to 7000 words or more--we checked it by pasting a contract into Microsoft word and doing a word count), it's a good idea to read the contract. Travel Guard does appear to exclude non US citizens from coverage in this scenario. And here's another loophole: one of our readers bought travel insurance directly from an airline site (the insurer was again TravelGuard) but was informed that she wasn't covered due to a pre-existing condition. If you buy insurance directly from TravelGuard within 15 days of purchasing your travel, you are covered for pre-existing conditions. But it seems that protection bought through airline web sites when buying your ticket is not the same thing. These airline-sold policies are relatively cheap, but don't buy them unless you study the fine print.

Q. I signed up for alerts from New York JFK to Los Angeles, and hadn't received anything from you. But then I noticed on the site that there was a great $225 RT fare from LaGaurdia to LA on the site. Wouldn't I automatically get alerts from LaGuardia to LA as well?

A. Actually, no. Because some people only fly out of favorite airports, we don't assume that you'd take a connecting flight out of LGA to save money. So if you're airport-flexible, you should sign up for alerts to/from any alternate airports that you'd be willing to fly through.

Q. My daughter and I recently completed a trip from Denver to Stockholm on SAS/United. The SAS portion is giving me just 25% of the miles earned. No where on my itinerary can I find information stating that my economy fare does this. In fact, when I click on airline conditions and terms it states there are none provided.I am a United Premier Member. I was counting on these 6000 miles to get Premier Executive status by fall. Any suggestions?

A. Unfortunately, SAS does clearly state this policy on their website:

The principle is simple, the more you spend the more points you earn. For the cheapest tickets you will earn 25% of the points you earn for a normal Economy ticket, check how many points you earn in our earn points table.

Q. I very recently flew from Tulsa to Albuquerque on United. When I paid for my ticket online, I recieved a confirmation. I was able to choose a seat on the second leg (DIA-ABQ), but not the first (TUL-DIA). Later, when I checked in for my flight online, I tried again to get a seat for the first leg. Still a no-go, but I kept getting a prompt to "pay $39 for Economy Plus." Well, no thanks, it's a little over an hour flight and I can deal with a regular seat for that long. Unfortunately, this was the only option I was given.

I checked in 3 1/2 hours early, just in case, and was told I still could not get a seat assignment because if a flight is "80% full, they hold the remaining seats to be able to accomodate families, wheelchair passengers, etc."

I was too afraid to leave my gate area after check-in (although I was there so, so early) for any length of time because they were supposed to call people up "at some point" for seat assignments. I did get a seat eventually, so why am I complaining? It was very stressful as I didn't want to be stuck and I understand many airlines are in the habit of bumping passengers, even when they buy in advance and have a confirmation! I counted, and because I knew the size of the aircraft and then listened to the number of names called at the gate - a lot! - I was able to deduce that it was well over 20%. How many people gave up and paid the $39 when prompted because they wanted to be assured a seat? Hmm... smells like a trick to get more cash from passengers if you ask me.

Incidentally, the DIA-ABQ flight was completely full as well, but I was able to get a seat assignment any time I wanted. That flight was operated by United, andalthough everything on the TUL-DIA flight indicated United, I found out it was actually operated by SkyWest. Do they need to make a little more revenue on that portion to pay them off or something, or is this somehow normal?

A. it's pretty common for airlines not to offer seat assignments on heavily booked flights and, you're right, sometimes that means you could end up being bumped. But bribing people to upgrade to a roomier seat is new to us. Obviously, the airline was holding back seats in the hope of making some extra cash. It's like on Broadway where theaters sell "premium seats" for twice the regular ticket price far in advance but end up selling them at the last minute for the regular price if no one bites. Just another scam.

Q. I recently found a great fare on Continental for my summer vacation, but got an error message saying to try again later whenever I tried to purchase it. I tried several times before finally called Continental. The operator informed me that since the flight I was trying to book was actually a Delta code share flight and that Delta only updates the Continental database once a day that there was no way for Continental to actually see if there are seats available on the flight and they were unable process the transaction. I could book a Continental flight which was about $200 more expensive. And yet on Delta's website, the flight I wanted was listed at about $100 more than the original flight I found on Continental's site. Seems like a mess to me.

Any ideas on how to actually get this flight?

A. Most likely you could have booked it on Travelocity or Orbitz . You may not see the words "codeshare" next to the flight, but if you dig deeper you'll see what's up. Meanwhile, Orbitz pretty clearly shows codeshare flights, listing both airlines side by side.

Q: I love your site and use it daily whenever looking for the best airfare.  I don’t fly often but when I do, your site has become an essential resource.  Thank you for your invaluable information.  Now I need your personal assistance.  I voluntarily bumped from a Northwest flight and was given a free flight voucher which I can no longer find.  I booked the flight using my WorldPerks number, but my number was not associated with the voucher.  Someone at WorldPerks said there is no way to find the voucher and that I had to find it myself or loose it.  I called Customer Care at 701-420-6282 and tried every option but could not reach a live person at any extension.  What can I do?  Thanks for your help.

A: Unfortunately, you're out of luck here. Vouchers are like cash. Some airlines are now issuing electronic vouchers, which they would email to you, and these are harder to lose unless you forever delete the email and neglect to write down the voucher number. But if it's a paper voucher and you lose it, there's no recourse.

Q. Hi, I've been using Airfarewatchdog for a couple of months but haven't seen any fares to Kiev, Ukraine. Could you add Kiev to your list?

A. We do list fares to Kiev, but only when we spot a particularly low fare. We found a few back in April/early May from a handful of departure cities, but at this stage, so close to summer, low fares to Kiev are hard to come by. You might want to try Travelocity's newly reinstated flexible search for international fares as well as vayama.com and lessno.com to see what you might come up with.

You can also sign up to receive our International City Alerts for Kiev. That way, we can give you a nudge whenever something especially low to Kiev comes along.

Q. When can I expect to see sale fares for December this year? We usually go to Italy, but would be happy to go to Morocco or somewhere else just as great. I keep checking various airlines-- they have usually posted sale fares by now, but so far I've seen no sales.

A. The airlines time the release of these sales to maximize profit.  We imagine they're waiting to see what happens with the price of fuel, which really has them (most of them, anyway) in crisis mode at the moment. Stay tuned to AFWD though, and we'll let you know when they start springing up.

Q. A friend recently purchased a non-refundable ticket from United to fly out for a conference. Many attendees, including my friend, were infected with a nasty intestinal virus, which prevented her from making her return flight. I called United on her behalf, and was told that they'd give her a $100 credit on the return ticket (even though the roundtrip ticket cost $325), which could be used any time in the next year. United would, however, charge $150 to use the credit!

And the cheapest return ticket would cost about $730. When I asked if United could discount the return ticket, the answer was an unencouraging, "No." The agent would not budge on the price, and we eventually gave up, and booked a much cheaper ticket through Hotwire.com, with travel insurance, for about $230 total.

Are airlines generally this unhelpful? I certainly could have transported my friend to the airport and put her on the plane, but thought it was not appropriate to expose a plane full of people to such a horrible virus. United's uncharitable response was a little surprising.

Any suggestions on how to better handle such a situation in the future?

A. With the exception of Southwest, which does not charge a fee for changing your travel date, yes, airlines generally are this unhelpful. With policies such as this, it's no wonder Southwest is actually making money while most of the other guys aren't.

This is why it's so important to shell out those few extra bucks for travel insurance, like Travel Guard, which would have covered all those pesky little nonrefundables in the event of an illness such as this. To what extent, of course, depends on your policy, so always read the fine print.

Q. I've booked some great fares through you guys, and now I'm shopping around for a good deal on a cruise. Do you provide the same service for cruises? Or do you know of another site that does?

A. We're stricly airfares, but we do recommend Cruise Critic, which lists cruise deals, as well as advice from experienced cruisers to help you select the cruise that suits you best. You might also want to check out Cruisemates as well.

Q. I've noticed before that when you're in the last boarding group and there's no room in the overhead racks, that the flight attendants will offer to check your bag in. Of course, that was before American Airline's new $15 check-in policy. Now what happens when the situation I described occurs?

A. Good question!  We imagine those often ignored carry-on guidelines will now be strictly enforced, with passengers being asked to squeeze their carry-ons into those tiny metal size-guideline contraptions, the ones that no one ever uses. Will they go the route of European low cost carriers, with a scale to see if your carry-on bag is overweight, and charge you for that too? Will there be enough room in the overhead bins for everyone trying to avoid the fee? Maybe the flight crew will be equipped with charge card swipers, and bill you from the cabin, if bags prove too bulky for the overhead.  We have a feeling this may not work out  very smoothly and that maybe AA hasn't thought this through entirely.

Q. I bought my ticket before American announced the new $15 fee for 1st checked bags, but my date of travel is after June 15, which is when the new fee goes into effect. So am I exempt because of my purchase date, or do I go by my departure date?

A. You should go by your pre-June-15th purchase date, which means no $15 fee for you. As American states on their site:

Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after May 12, 2008 but before June 15, 2008 may check one bag for free and check a second bag for $25 each way. Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 15, 2008 will be charged $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 each way for the second checked bag. Our carry-on policy of one personal item (such as a purse or laptop bag) plus one bag remains in place.

Q. My husband and I plan to travel to Auckland, New Zealand next April. When is the best time to start looking for good buys on tickets?

A. Let me first congratulate you on being a model travel planner! Not only have you started planning your trip well ahead of time, you have also picked one of the best times to go, at least from a price perspective. April and especially May, along with August and part of November tend to be the cheapest periods by far to travel down under.

Both Qantas and Air New Zealand have fairly predictable and straight-forward sales to Auckland that usually start several months in advance and run through the month of travel. You can start checking their respective web sites for sales late in the fall, but January should be plenty early to catch a good deal and a good seat. In addition to signing up for our e-mail alerts, you may also want to subscribe to those of both airlines.

While Qantas often prices their nonstop service from Los Angeles to Auckland a bit lower, with the "Discover New Zealand" offer Air New Zealand has especially attractive options for adding on domestic New Zealand travel at minimal extra cost to their nonstop flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco. From other major U.S. airports, both airlines offer add-on connecting flights, but you can sometimes do better by arranging your own connection.

Q. Can you tell me why I'm seeing fewer fares to Honolulu all of a sudden? It used to be included pretty regularly as a destination & now I never see it.

A. The demise of both Aloha Airlines and ATA means less competition and higher fares. Factor in the recent jump in fuel costs and the fact that Hawaii remains one of the most popular destinations in the US and -voila! - there's little reason for carriers to discount fares. Still, don't give up hope. Even if fares to Honolulu aren't as low as they once were, we continue to seek out and list the lower-than-average, such as Honolulu from Los Angeles for $380, from Kansas City for $652, and from Newark for $658, all round-trip.

Q. My sister and I purchased a round trip ticket from Boston to Seattle on Alaska Air for our elderly mother and also purchased trip cancellation insurance through Global Travel Shield. Since her arrival on the West Coast, it became clearly evident that her health had severely declined and it was no longer feasible for her to live on her own in Massachusetts. To that end, she never used the return portion of the ticket and we applied to the insurance company for a refund of the unused portion of the airfare.

Ultimately, the insurance company denied our claim for a partial refund, citing the sole reason for denial was that it was a round trip airfare.....duh!!?? They advised they could not refund one-half of a fare, in that they could not assign a dollar value to it. We contacted Alaska, who verbally advised us of the appropriate amount for the half-fare, but they were unwilling to put it in writing, which is what the insurance company would require to process the claim.

Do we have any recourse in this "Catch 22" matter?

A. Every Alaska fare is sold as a one-way for exactly 1/2 the RT purchase. That's their policy. I understand that on some airlines, low fares are sold as RT only, so indeed you couldn't have bought certain fares as one-ways for 1/2 the RT price. But on Alaska you can, each and every fare. I would go back to your insurance agency and tell them to stop trying to wiggle out of this or you will take them to small claims court. At least make a pest of yourself. Does it say anywhere in their contract that they exclude this sort of thing? I would also write a letter to your state's insurance commissioner.

Q. I am going on my honeymoon to Turks & Caicos in November and am interested in buying a day pass to an airport lounge. Do I have to have a ticket on a particular airline in order to access their lounge, or is it enough to just purchase a day pass? And what about international carriers? if I'm hanging out in JFK on my way to London on, say, American Airlines, can I go to the Emirates counter and buy a single-use lounge pass from Emirates? Who has the best food and amenities? Booze? We're on our honeymoon for crying out loud... it's time to party!

A. As long as you cough up that day pass fee, which varies according to carrier, you can access certain lounges regardless of what airline your ticket is with. For example, American charges $50 for a single visitor day pass to its Admirals Club, $75 for single visitor plus one, and $100 for a single plus two. And $30 will get you into the Delta Crown Room. As for the lounges of most international carriers, like Emirates , they don't exactly open their doors for anyone who flashes a few twenties at the door, no siree. For Emirates, if you're not a first or business class passenger, you have to be a Skywards gold or silver member.

If it's a cheery party atmosphere you're after, nothing says 'Get Crunk, Romantical Honeymoon' like a roomfull of ill-fitting suits slurping free Sanka. For something a little more glamorous, you may find the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at JFK to be more your speed. In addition to their own, Virgin Atlantic allows access to Virgin America first class passengers and EleVate members (so join!)  for $30 - $40.

For more info and photos of airport lounges, check out the LoungeGuide Wiki page.

Q. I'm pretty new to flying; we're more the road warrior type. However, since my daughter has moved cross-country, we need to fly once in awhile. I have a couple of credit cards that earn me frequent flyer miles. But, they are useless! I had enough miles for a round-trip flight, but they wanted me to spend 14 hours at O'Hare between legs of the journey! Also, I wanted to book two tickets. They said I only had enough for one ticket. I was afraid to book just mine, and then go back in to book my husband's for fear that ...uh oh... no seat available for my husband! Why can't I use the points for one ticket and pay full price for the other?

A. Here's what you can do: Buy, or reserve, the first ticket on your credit card and -if you need to -  cancel it within a few hours at no penalty. Of course grace periods and reservation hold times will vary according to airline, so do check with yours first. Then immediately try to book the second ticket on the same flight using your miles. If there are no more seats, scrap your previous reservation and keep hunting.

And yes, it does seem that Frequent Flyer miles are increasingly more difficult to use. We're finding that for some folks a cash back card, such as the Amex Blue Cash card is a better option than a frequent flyer credit card. More on that subject here.

Q. My husband bought a ticket on Southwest, using his credit card, for our son to come and visit us. Now, as it turns out, our son cannot make the trip at all, due to job issues.

May my husband use the same confirmation number and put the credit towards a new ticket in his own name, since he's the one that paid for it?

And for the record, why are airlines generally so opposed to changing the name on a ticket anyway?

A. Yes, your husband can use the credit for your son's ticket and apply it towards another ticket, within a year of the original date of purchase. There are no fees for this, just the matter of paying the difference, if there is one.

Southwest is the only airline that allows such a thing, and --we might add -- one of the only airlines around these days actually making a profit. As for the others, there really isn't any reason why they shouldn't also allow for transferrable ticket credits. If pleasing passengers isn't motivation enough, they at least stand to make some money from the fees that they'd certainly charge, just as they do for a change of date. Short-sighted, we guess.

Q. Today you listed a $124 round-trip fare from Fresno to Long Beach, but I'm interested in flying my mother in Long Beach to visit us here in Fresno. Would this fare also be available from Long Beach to Fresno?

A. It sure is! Except for some weekend fares, such as those on United, all of our domestic US fares are "reversible"-- i.e., it's the same fare no matter which city you originate in.

Q. I have worked for a major U.S. Airline for 22 years and even I am stumped on this one! We are hosting a foreign exchange student from Brazil this coming school year. He will be traveling from Sao Paulo to Atlanta, arriving in July and returning in June '09. I can find many fares to Brazil from the U.S. that are discounted, but I can find none from Brazil. Whether I book one-way or round-trip, it's running $1000.00-$1500.00! Do you know an airline or site I can try for a better deal?

A. As far as we know, there are no established carriers serving Brazil with a simple one-way pricing model similar to those you see in the transatlantic and transpacific markets, so you appear to be stuck with the time-honored tradition of having to pay as much for one-way tickets as you would for return trips.

If the U.S. to Brazil trends are anything to go by, fares hit their peak in mid-to-late July and you might have had a chance at snaring a good deal if you started shopping around early in the year (keep that in mind for future planning). We usually find the best fares to Brazil on TAM Airlines non-stop from Miami and New York JFK through smaller outfits like Lessno and Vayama, and since Atlanta is typically such an expensive destination (or departure point) for international travel, you may be able to shave 10-20% off the total fare by creating your own connection through either of those cities.

At the moment, the best fares we can pin down for July travel, while probably no better than what you yourself have found, are $890 RT from Sao Paolo to Miami with Avianca on Lessno (7/24-8/1), and $1115 RT from Sao Paolo to Atlanta with Aeromexico on Expedia (7/28-8/5). Lower fares may be available directly from these airlines, as well as from Copa Airlines.

Q. My husband and I are planning a trip to Germany and Italy in October. Ideally, we would like to fly into Amsterdam, work our way over, and return from Rome at the end of the month. Can we get good fare with that choice of cities? Or do you suggest another city other than Rome to return from?

A. Sounds like the makings of a wonderful trip but it may also be a costly one, since you'll be buying 2 one-way tickets for which you almost always pay a ridiculous mark-up for transatlantic travel (it's a strange but standard custom for most major airlines to charge much more for international one-way tickets than they do for round-trip tickets).

Q. I have been living and working in Switzerland since September and I will be returning to the U.S. this July, permanently. While I have found numerous Europe specials (thanks to your newsletter) for flights originating in the States, it has been difficult for me to find a reasonably-priced ticket back home FROM Europe. What's the best way to go about finding the cheapest fare? I assume that round-trip tickets are considerably less expensive, even though I only need a one-way ticket. Would you recommend buying my ticket now or waiting another month or so in hopes that prices will go down? I have even thought about flying back to a large hub city like New York or Chicago and then flying domestically using a budget airlines...is this advisable? Any advice you have would be MUCH appreciated.

A. As you've probably discovered, one-way tickets are often so high that it can sometimes be cheaper to buy a round-trip ticket and only use half of it. There are, however, a few airlines that sell transatlantic one-way tickets at no or little premium, most notably Aer Lingus from Dublin to all its U.S. gateways (incl. New York JFK, Boston, Washington, and Chicago) and Zoom Airlines from London Gatwick to New York JFK. Qatar Airways also offers one-way tickets for as little as $480 on their Geneva to Newark non-stop flights, but apparently only in June and August.

You should have no trouble finding reasonably priced one-way tickets from Switzerland to either Dublin (e.g., on Ryanair from Basel) or London (e.g., on Easyjet from Geneva to London Gatwick, because you don't want the expense or hassle of changing airports there), and at the other end from, say, New York to your hometown, so piecing together your own itinerary like this using 3 different low-fare airlines is by far your best chance of getting a good deal and not nearly as complicated as it might sound. Although E.U. airline liability rules protect you in case of delays that cause you to miss your connecting transatlantic flight, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to make your transfers.

While all of these airlines occasionally have sales, they also sell out their cheapest seats first, so since you'll be traveling during peak summer season I suggest you forgo the relatively minor savings of a possible sale and instead buy your tickets soon to lock in the best prices.

Q. In February, I booked a ticket for a domestic flight in May by Delta. Recently, I learned that Delta will be charging for second bags for travel after May 1, I was not unduly worried because I had made this reservation in February and I was sure Delta would not be charging those who made reservations before their announcement. But just to be sure I called Delta airlines and was told that my family will have to pay for their second bags. I did a quick check of other airlines who recently added the 2nd bag fee and found that none of them were charging for tickets purchased before the announcements were made. I would never have bought the ticket on Delta if I'd known this.

Can Delta get away with arbitrarily changing their baggage policy for passengers who have already purchased a ticket?

A. The folks over at Consumerist took out the old jewelers loupe for a closer look at Delta's Contract of Carriage and found this:

        D. Amendments to Conditions of Carriage

        1. Amendment by Delta

Although some Judge Judies out there may quibble over just exactly what it means to be materially affected by the change, it sure seems like enough to wriggle you free from the contract (since, bottom line, it's not the one you originally agreed to). But, as Consumerist points out, you probably don't really want to cancel your flight altogether. After all, If your departure date is creeping up, a new ticket on another carrier could cost way more than what you would have spent on that 2nd baggage fee. So get Delta on the horn, and try bargaining. Refer specifically to this bit from their Contract of Carriage, and ask them to waive those retroactive bag fees. You never know.

And if it doesn't work? Well, you can ask for your money back or stick with the Delta ticket you've already purchased and consider shipping any extra baggage.

Q. I want to fly from Burlington VT to Philadelphia. Nonstop fares are $800 RT. Burlington to Newark is $280 RT nonstop. Burlington to Newark with a connection in Philadelphia is $200 RT. So why can't I just get off in Philadelphia?

A: Because if you buy a round-trip ticket, they will cancel your return flights, should you get off in Philadelphia. If the ticket is sold one way, and you're only going one-way, then yes, you can theoretically do this, but the airlines frown on this practice because it depletes their revenue. What can they do about it? Nothing, legally, but they might kick you out of their frequent flyer program or take similar actions within their powers. And in fact, that route is sometimes as low as $200 RT anyway, if you wait for an unadvertised sale. And Burlington to Baltimore is usually around $100 RT, so you might consider flying into BWI and taking Amtrak up to Philadelphia.

Q. Sometimes when I click on one of your fares, I get an "Oops!" message. What's up with that? Does that mean it's sold out?

A.  That just means that we are in the process of rechecking that fare to see if seats are still available at that price. Fares can change several times throughout the day, and we spend a lot of our day checking and updating to make certain our fares our accurate. So, no, in the event that you get an oops message, that doesn't necessarily mean the fare is sold out or unavailable, it just means it's being double-checked. We don't list a fare unless a real human being has checked it for seats.

Q. I've noticed a lot of airlines are now selling flight insurance when you buy your ticket. Should I buy from them, or use a company like TravelGuard or Access America?

A. We suggest buying coverage straight from the insurance company (a reputable one, of course), instead of the airline, because you may not be covered should your carrier go bankrupt. Of course, this all depends on the policy. For example, coverage purchased from Spirit Airlines through AIG/TravelGuard will protect you in the event of financial default. Meanwhile, AirTran's travel insurance through CSA does not cover financial default. Considering the recent string of airlines to go belly-up, it's definitely something you'll want to make certain you're covered for. Another point to keep in mind: You may find it  difficult  to near impposible to  purchase trip insurance if you're airline has already declared bankruptcy, such as Frontier.

Q. I have a follow up question about airline baggage fees. I am flying on Northwest Airlines from Fairbanks to Seattle and then Amsterdam and finally to Bergen, Norway. I own a place in Norway, but since it is so extremely expensive there I bring everything I can with me and therefore travel very heavily. I am wondering if my baggage, 2 per person, all of which will be over 50 pounds, will be charged a one time fee in Fairbanks, or charged three times for the three different connections that we will be making?

A. As long as your travel is on the same airline and on the same ticket, you'll be charged just once. And I believe you'll be charged at the domestic rate since your trip began in the US. However, if you change airlines and buy a separate ticket to Bergen, you may be charged again. But I'm guessing you're buying a through fare on Northwest/KLM. On the way back, you'll be charged again if you bring a heavy suitcase home with you, and that may be at international rates depending on airline and route. To avoid surprises, I'd contact Northwest/KLM to see what the charges will be heading home. I've heard stories of overweight bag charges on foreign airlines costing more than the fare itself.

Q. I'm a frequent flyer who doesn't find your site useful and has pretty much quit paying any attention to the daily e-mails you send with deals from the cities I've identified. The prices you list generally apply only to flights that have horrendous logistics (departure/arrival times, number of stops), and/or have horrendous connections, and/or are on tiny commuter planes. What gives?

A. Unless your commute to the airport includes a donkey ride and a rope bridge (in which case: not so much our fault, but sounds fun!), we're not sure what 'horrendous logistics' you could possibly be referring to. Many of the flights we list are nonstop, or require just a single connection, tops. We definitely take these things into consideration before listing a fare, and if a fare involves an excessive amount of layover time or multiple stops and other such hullabaloo then -like you - we don't consider it to be a good deal, which means we won't post it. And although it makes up a very small percentage of our listings, many reputable airlines do service shorter routes, or smaller airports, with commuter aircraft. You won't be sharing your seat with a caged chicken, or going off course to dust Farmer RoRo's crops or anything. It's really no different than any other flight, actually.

As for the departure and arrival times, it's just kind of common sense that flights are going to cost less during off peak hours. And although the schedule of flights we list will certainly varies, some may very well be for early morning departures. Sure, you might have to drag yourself out of the bed a little sooner than normal, but look on the bright side: If yours is one of the first flights of the day, you can pretty much be guaranteed that your flight will take off and arrive on time since the plane and crew are already there and air traffic control system hasn't had time to get bogged down as it does by 4.30 PM.

But hey, if you'd prefer to sleep late, order a nice frittata from room service, leaf through PC World, and finally take that leisurely stroll around Cleveland before making that popular 4:30 pm flight home, just be prepared to pay for it.

Oh, and although we'd love to build a Web site just for you, sir, that will cost you several hundred thousand dollars. Wouldn't you rather we continue to do this for everyone, and for free? Hmmmm?

Q. About a month ago, I purchased a roundtrip airfare on AA for a trip in June. I just received an email from AA telling me that my itinerary had been slightly changed. My departure flight has been moved back by 65 minutes. Of course, the reason I chose the AA flight was that it departed at 4:25pm. Because of my engagements I cannot make a departing flight at 3:20pm. So I called AA to get a refund, and they tell me that I am not entitled to one. Only a voucher. They say a flight has to be changed by 90 minutes or more to get a refund. What recourse do I have?

A.  We spoke with AA spokesperson Tim Wagner, who informs us that since American changed your flight times they would refund your fare in full, which is nice of them.

Q. I was wondering if you think it is important to have flight insurance. I have a trip to Maui coming up in June and I'd hate for anything to happen, especially with all the recent problems with American Airlines. Do you recommend insurance and, if so, can I still get it after booking my flights?

A. Yes, yes, yes! It's extreeeeemely important to purchase travel insurance, even for those routine little domestic jaunts. In addition to your flight being potentially canceled due to mechanical (or the oh-so-hot-right-now Chapter 11) snafus, there could be weather issues, you might suddenly be too ill to travel, or you might have car trouble and miss your flight. Travel insurance can also cover lost or stolen luggage, and emergency medical evacuation too. Of course policies vary in coverage and price, but you never know what wrenches fate may toss your way. You can still purchase travel insurance after buying your ticket, although some policies diminish  coverage if purchased too close to your departure date, so the sooner the better. We suggest checking out Travelguard.com, and no matter what type of trip insurance you choose, read the fine print!

Q. My daughter is expecting July 1st. I will be traveling from Dayton, Ohio to Seattle. Of course we know that babies have plans of their own. My concern is getting the best deal I can on an unsure travel date. Is there such a deal or do you have suggestions how I can be best prepared for making last minute arrangements?

A. We get this question a lot! And maybe it's time to start lobbying the airlines for a "loved-one-of-an-expectant-mother" ticket. Until that wonderful day, your current options are not the best. If you wait until the the mother goes into labor, you'll be at the mercy of whatever the current market is for last-minute travel, which is usually quite expensive (unless by some miracle the baby decides to make their first appearance as an airline is announcing a last-minute weekend fare.) Another option, is to buy a fully refundable ticket ahead of time (which again can be quite expensive), and you'll be able to change the the date of travel without a change fee, but still have to pay the difference in fare if there is one. Finally, you might want to go ahead and buy a sale fare on a carrier that charges lower change fees such as AirTran and JetBlue or one that doesn't penalize for change such as Southwest and hope that you won't have to change your itinerary. Of course if you do, you'll be responsible for the difference in fare and there will be one! In your area Southwest flies out of Columbus and AirTran out of Dayton, so you might want to keep your eye out for those fares.

Q. What exactly does it mean when I see a listing noted as being new? Does this mean that the fare itself is new or that this is a new route that you don't normally list?

A. When we designate something as being new, that refers to the fare, meaning that it has gone down in price and we feel it's a bargain worth sharing. It could be on a route that don't normally list, or a route we see pretty regularly, just so long as it's a good fare!

Q. How do I go about finding out how to ship my small dog from Sarasota to my daughter in Jacksonville, North Carolina? I'd prefer for her to travel in the cabin.... not under the plane. Is that possible?

A. Although there are plenty of people out there (us among them) who would actually prefer to share an armrest with a cute little dog from Sarasota over most human seatmates, airlines generally do not permit unaccompanied pets to travel in the cabin. Rules vary according to carrier. There some airlines don't allow pets, even as cargo. Some exclude particular routes. For example, US Airways will not accept pets on flights to/from Pheonix and Las Vegas due to high temperatures. Check with your airline, and do so early on since cargo space for pets can be limited.

Q. I was more than upset when I read that Aloha Airlines had gone out of business. I have saved up over 300,000 Aloha Pass miles and now it looks as if I can't use them. Do I have any options? Any suggestions? Can I still use them for rental cars, hotel stays and/or partner airlines?

A. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we don't believe you can use your miles now. According to Frequentflier.com unredeemed AlohaPass miles are now without any value, and Aloha's website states that car and hotel rewards already booked with the frequent flier program are no longer valid. United will honor previously confirmed United tickets booked with AlohaPass miles, by rebooking travelers on alternate flights according to availability. If you find out anything different, do let us know and we'll spread the good news.

Q. I know the airlines are having financial problems but I'm surprised that we lost both Aloha and ATA this week. And they say this stuff happens in threes. Think we'll lose another one? Also, we've planned a family vacation for June. How can we ensure we don't get ripped off should something like this happen to us?

A. It could very well happen again, as there are more than a few other carriers out there struggling to stay afloat. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is something you've probably already done: pay for your ticket using your credit or debit card, instead of cash  or check. You can contest the charge for a flight not taken, if you do so in writing within 60 days of the charge appearing on your card. Otherwise, you may have to line up in bankruptcy court. And that's not fun.

Q. What do you mean when I see OW and RT next to a fare? And what about when you list something as being "OW for 1/2 fare?" I see a lot of other abbreviations in the fare details that I can't quite crack, like UA? SW? Please explain, as I'm a new to the site.

A. OW stands for one-way and RT stands for round-trip. So when we list a round-trip fare as being available "OW for 1/2 fare", that just means that you can purchase this fare for one-way at half the cost of the round-trip fare.

As for UA and SW, those are airline codes assigned by the International Air Transport Association, not us. UA stands for United Airlines, SW is Southwest Airlines, YX is Midwest Airlines, G4 is Allegiant Air, FL is AirTran, and so on. You can find a list of frequently used airline codes here.

Q. My husband I and live in Ft Lauderdale and have a second home in Tennessee, and frequently fly Allegiant Air between the two. But I noticed you haven't been including Allegiant fares lately. Any reason?

A. That's because Allegiant's fares have been very high on certain routes. We list them only when they're on the low side, since we pride ourselves on being a low fare listing site. Allegiant's fares can change in a heartbeat, so make sure that you're signed up for city to city alerts on your favorite routes and check your emails and the site often.

Q. Help! When I click your "How to Book this Fare" link to Travelocity to purchase the fare I want, I'm unable to change the number of travelers from one to four. I need to buy tickets for the rest of my family. How do I change this?

A. We'll walk you through it. Okay, so when you click over to Travelocity, you'll see the list of airlines and prices. Click the one you want and  on the next screen you'll see the calendar options showing when this fare is available. Click on your preferred dates and confirm they are available. Next step: Now that you know your dates/times are available, click on the Home tab at the top of Travelocity, enter those dates along with the number of tickets you'd like to buy, and voila! There you have it.