Finding the Best Airline Deals

There is no shortage of travel agents and online booking sites that can help you find affordable flights to the medical tourism destination of your choice.  But our general attitude towards travel is the more options you have, the better.  This is why we typically use Kayak; a powerful travel search engine that scours the net (including most of the major online booking sites) for the best deals and packages.  

After entering your dates, destinations, meal preferences, etc., Kayak retrieves a number of flights and schedules that should meet your specific requirements.  And for those who want to cash in on frequent flyer miles, Kayak also allows you to filter results based on mileage partnerships.  In addition, Kayak makes it easy to shop for hotel reservations and car rentals. 

Cheap Flights

While Kayak is our preferred flight reservation tool, we frequently use other sites from time to time, and we recommend not limiting yourself to any one approach. There are many reputable travel agents and online booking companies that can assist you with your travel preparations.  Shop around. 

Best Time to Buy Tickets

If cost is a major concern when flying, you should time your purchase for optimal affordability.  Each person probably has his or her own system for finding cheap airfare, but we have found that the best times to buy tickets are:
 

• Sooner rather than later.  The more time you give yourself, the better deals you’ll be able to find.  However, depending on your medical needs, you might not have this luxury.  If that’s the case, you might qualify for standby flights or last-minute deals, but don’t get your hopes up.

• With flexible dates in mind.  If you are somewhat flexible about your travel dates, this can expand your options considerably.  Flying at 3:00 am on a Wednesday will often be cheaper than flying at 5:00 pm on a Friday.

• With flexible airports in mind.  If you live in or near a major city, you might have access to two or more airports.  Broaden your search.  Driving an extra 30-45 minutes might save you a couple hundred dollars.

• Wednesday from midnight to 1:00 am.  Some claim that Wednesday early morning is the sweet spot for finding great deals.  This is when airlines allegedly remove reserved but un-booked seats from their databases.  However, there seems to be some debate as to the veracity of this claim.  Also, would it be Wednesday morning your time?  Wednesday morning of the head office?  Wednesday morning of the medical tourism destination?  As much as we like this general theory, it might not be as reliable as we might want to believe.

• When the market tells you to.  When you buy a car or stereo, you might rely on pricing guides to aid you in your research.  Some consumer guides even tell you when certain products will be discounted in the near future.  The same is true of airlines.  By using sites like Fare Compare, you can review more than 2 year’s worth of pricing data for certain flights.  If your upcoming trip coincides with a dip in the price graph, then this might be a good time to buy.

Picking the Best Seats Possible

No travel arrangements would be complete without Seat Guru’s online seating charts.  This nifty application allows you to see what types of seating arrangements exist on most of the major carriers and planes.  If you’re someone who likes plenty of leg room, easy access to the toilets, or a nice window to gaze out of, this site is perfect for you.  Seat Guru can also clue you into some of the amenities, perks, and resources available on your flight.  For example, if all of the movies being shown on your upcoming flight are ones that you have already seen (or don’t want to see), you might consider taking extra reading material with you.

Back, Flights

Next, Airport Pick-up/Drop-off