Airlines Flights Fares

Have you ever wondered what all entails first class airfare, but never knew where to look? First class airfare can cost up to 15 times more than the regular fares for the same trip. So what do travelers living the high life actually get for these super inflated prices? Well, a lot. This article will detail the major carriers, and what they provide their first class airfare clients with. It s a wild ride are you ready?

First Class Airfare: Goodie Bags

If you thought the goodie bags you received when you were in elementary school were cool, think again. First class airfare passengers get a whole lot of stuff when traveling on first class airfares; let s take a peek at some of those goodie bags now:

American: Lip balm, cooling gel, and if requested, shaving cream.

United: Brand name mouth wash, lip balm and moisturizer that was created for United specifically.

Delta: Lip balm and moisturizer.

Continental: Whitening toothpaste, toothbrush and cotton socks.

Virgin: Eye gel, body gel, pen, paper and mints, all branded with the Virgin name.

Singapore: Brand name hand lotion, lip balm, and aromatherapy oils.

First Class Airfare: Sleep Aids

Of course, many of the first class airfares cover a large geographical area. Therefore, passengers need to relax and perhaps even sleep during their journey. Since first class airfare comes with all of the great perks, they couldn t forget sleep aids, could they?

American: A privacy divider and a seat that reclines completely.

United: Full pillows, a privacy divider, and a seat that reclines completely.

Delta: An eye shade and ergonomically designed seats.

Continental: Full pillows, electronic lumbar support, and an adjustable footrest.

Virgin: Seats that recline completely, eye shades, cotton pj s, and warm socks.

Singapore: Seats that turn into beds with fresh linens and duvet, and givenchy pj s.

First Class Airfare: Dinner

Ah, food. There is nothing better than a luxurious meal. And on a first class airfare trip, you re sure to get your fill with these amazing meals, complete with dessert:

American: Filet mignon, paella or lamb in rosemary sauce, with vanilla flan and while chocolate mousse for dessert.

United: Citrus sesame chicken with rice, and ice cream sundaes with the works for dessert.

Delta: Five course meal with ice cream sundaes with the works for dessert.

Continental: Porcini mushroom veal chops and roasted veggies with ice cream sundaes and the works for dessert.

Virgin: Selection of 23 different menu items, with petit desserts such as cheesecake.

Singapore: Lobster, steak, lamb or a barramundi fillet, with health sweets for dessert.

First Class Airfare: Other Perks

There are a myriad of other things the first class airfare passengers receive on their trip; here is a m lange of the most interesting:

American: Free champagne, a personal TV and DVD player, and noise erasing headsets.

United: Free Dom and scotch, a personal TV, and an inflatable seat that gives back massages.

Delta: An amazing free wine selection, video games, and a self-service snack bar.

Virgin: Free vodka or cognac, play Nintendo games, in-flight massages and manicures, and a free limousine service.

The author has traveled the world in search of adventure. For more travel tips or to find cheap plane tickets visit us at http://www.fly-the-skies.com

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Flying can be an adventure, but like everything else in life, there are small risks. Even though flying is the safest way to travel in this modern age, here are some tips to minimize any unfortunate, but unlikely event of an emergency situation.

Try to only fly nonstop routings

Takeoff, climb, descent, and landing phases of flights have the most occurrences of accidents. To reduce these risks reduce the amount of exposure to these phases of flight by trying only to fly nonstop.

Choose a larger aircraft

Aircraft under 30 passengers are not required to be designed and certified under strictest regulations. Also statistically, in a larger aircraft, you have a better chance of survival in an unlikely event of a serious accident.

Pay Attention to the locations of the emergency exits

Preflight instructions have become very repetitious. But the information given regarding the exits are very important to your safety. Pay attention, the locations of the closest emergency exits may be different depending on the aircraft and seat you are in.

Overhead Storage Bins should be free of heavy articles

Overhead storage bins and their doors are not made to hold very heavy objects during turbulence, so ask if you or another passenger have heavy articles to be stored elsewhere.

Keep your seat belt fastened while the plane is in the air.

Incase of unexpected turbulence, extra protection is provided by keeping your seat belt fastened.

Listen to the Flight Attendants

Even though you have flown many times, flight attendants are aware of things that you may not be aware of. If an attendant ask you to do something don t argue just comply. Laws are changing because of the 911 and not complying might end you arrested.

Don’t bring any unauthorized material

Unauthorized materials that are not allowed are a list that seems to grow daily. Common sense should tell you that you shouldn’t bring hazardous materials on the aircraft unless they were allowed by the airline and shipped in a proper container. Other items such as sharp objects like knives and other seemingly benign objects have been targeted. Use common sense.

Don’t Drink Too Much

The atmosphere in the cabin is pressurized to about the same as Denver altitude. The alcohol you consume will have a more strongly effect than at lower level. Air Rage

Keep Your Wits About You

An emergency situation is very unlikely, but incases of an emergency evacuation, follow the flight attendants directions. The reason the attendants are there is not just to serve peanuts and beverages. They are required by law with your safety in mind.

Richard Amburn http://www.topgun-flightschools.com

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Fractional flying, you say. Is that division? Well, sort of. Fractional flying is where you, the customer, can own a “share” in a private jet. In most cases these shares allow you to own as much as 1/4 to as little as 1/32 of a 40 million dollar private jet. Where full ownership may be out of reach for you fractional ownership may be the best option to getting you in the air. Let’s take a look at four companies offering fractional flying in the US.

1. Netjets. Richard Santulli is the brainchild behind modern fractional jet flying as he founded Netjets on this principle in 1986. The concept has grown from selling shares in a few jets to selling shares in sixteen different models. Indeed, aircraft much “cheaper” than a 40 million dollar jet can also be shared starting with the Hawker 400 XP and working up to a BBJ [Boeing Business Jet]. Santulli sold out to Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway in 1998, but he remains a key player with the company.

2. Flexjet. Not to be left out in the cold, Canadian aircraft maker, Bombardier, jumped into the fray with AMR Combs [parent company of American Airlines] and started Business JetSolutions. In 1997, Bombardier bought out AMR Comb’s share and renamed the company Flexjet. Today, Flexjet customers can purchase shares in various Learjets [now owned by Bombardier] and Canadair [another Bombardier make] aircraft.

3. Flight Options. Raytheon Aircraft Company is the principle owner of Flight Options which was founded in 1998. Raytheon aircraft, which include various Hawker models, are some of the aircraft utilized in Flight Options’s fleet. Other aircraft flown by Flight Options are the Embraer Legacy and the Citation X.

4. CitationShares. Launched in 2000 as a joint partnership between TAG Aviation, an aircraft management and operations company, and the Cessna Aircraft Company. CitationShares features three Citation models produced by aircraft manufacturer Cessna: the CJ1, the Bravo, and the Excel.

Other things to consider when purchasing your fractional share include the following:

1. Acquisition Cost. When you purchase your share, how long do you actually own that share? Is it renewable and for how much? Is there any additional outlay in capital for you during the time that you own a share?

2. Management Fees. Monthly charges will be billed separately and include: pilot salaries and training, storage [hangaring] of the aircraft, insurance, and support.

3. Hourly Fees. During the time you are actually flying — and also for a predetermined amount of time before takeoff and after touching down — you will be assessed hourly charges to cover catering, maintenance, fuel, and landing fees.

4. Taxes. Fuel surcharges, international taxes, and federal surcharge taxes will also be assessed.

Fractional flying presents to you, the customer, options that were previously available only to those who owned a private jet. If convenience, luxury, safety/security, and price are important to you than a share in a jet is an option worth exploring. The four featured operators are leaders in the industry and can provide for you more detailed information.

Matt Keegan writes on aviation issues and manages two important business aviation sites: http://aviationemploymentboard.net/forum and http://corporateflyer.net/forum

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Almost anyone will probably agree that in a perfect world they’d be able to travel more. It is one of the most natural human desires to want to see different parts of the world and experience new things.

And anyone who has traveled will probably agree that you don’t really appreciate or think about your home too much until you have the perspective of seeing how people live in other parts of the world.

The problem of course, is that travel has always been expensive. Although airfares have gotten cheaper over the years, they are still expensive enough that most people don’t fly regularly, and this is likely to remain the case.

So unless you plan on suddenly getting rich, you’re going to have to come up with some discount travel solutions if you want to fly more, and a great thing to look into if you’re looking for a cheap flight are charter flights.

Charter flights are cheaper because they work on a different system than a started airline flight.

A standard airline will have a set route between two cites: an airline will fly a certain amount a times a week between two cities, and this remains constant regardless of the amount of passengers.

In other words normal airline routes function like bus routes, and sometimes there may only be a few people on the plane. It is this need to average out costs – to be able to afford all those times when the plane is a third full – that leads to high airfares.

A charter company can offer cheaper fares by working in a different fashion: they will charter an entire plane from an airline for a particular date and time, and thus receive a heavy discount on the cost.

They can then pass some of this discount on to you by offering a lower per seat price for the flight. Most charter companies operate along very common routes during peak times – for example, sunny vacation spots during the winter.

Charter flights are much more reliable then other more radical ways of obtaining discount airfare, and fares will generally get cheaper as the departure date approaches.

There is a certain amount of risk, however: a charter company can decide to cancel a flight if they haven’t sold enough tickets.

Unlike a regular airline, which constantly has planes going to multiple destinations, the charter company may not be able o immediately put you on another plane.

So instead of waiting a few hours it’s likely that if your charter flight is cancelled you’ll either be receiving a refund, or waiting at least a day or two for another charter – which of course can ruin any vacation.

That being said, there are many large and reliable charter companies, and charter flights — while not offering discounts as big as can be found through other discount travel methods – remain a reliable alternative to regular airfare.

And if you’re flexible and willing to buy a ticket on short notice, you can find many excellent airfares from charter companies, making charter flights one of the more popular discount traveling methods.

Drikus Botha is wellknown for his articles and e-courses.

You can subscribe to his free “Discount Travel” e-course right here

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Unless you happen to be wealthy and have a lot of free time, chances are you wish you could fly more often than you currently can. Airfare is, of course, the most cost prohibitive element of long distance travel.

Many people find themselves in situations where they know someone they could stay with in another city – so accommodations would be free – but there’s simply no way of being able to get there affordably.

In terms of discount travel, there are some solutions to expensive airfares that are worth looking into if you are flexible and interested on a short visit rather than a long trip.

One of the cheapest ways you can fly is called courier flying. How this works is: courier companies exist that specialize in delivering relatively small packages quickly – things like important business documents etc. . . and what these companies want is your baggage allotment on a flight.

So they will offer extremely discounted fares in order to get your baggage allotment.

If you sign up for a courier flight, your job will be to show up at the airport with carry on luggage only, meet someone with a package who will check it onto the plane in your space (you won’t normally have to handle the package), and take the flight.

In most cases you are required to take a return flight as well in a relatively short time (usually a few days, and rarely more than a month), which is why courier travel is more suitable to quick cross-country visits than long term travel.

Here are some samples of the approximate discounts on return fares, obtained through a simple internet search: New York to Paris, $250; Los Angeles to Sydney, $400.

In some cases, if you are on their call list, the courier may become desperate with a last minute flight and offer it for free.

Now, with such extreme discounts, there must be a catch, right? Of course: courier flying would be simply too good to be true it didn’t come with an extreme lack of flexibility.

Courier flying works by placing yourself on a list to be contacted by the companies. You’re not likely to receive much notice, and until you board the plane, your fate is entirely in the hands of the courier company: if there is a change or a problem with the package, for example, you’re out of luck.

More so than other types of discount travel, courier flying is dependant on you being able to establish a repoire with the company.

If you have been flexible and completed flights for a company in the past, you may be able to establish a relationship where they call you first to offer a flight, in which case you’ll have some more options.

Regardless, to engage in courier flying you have to be very flexible, and although it is one of the most extreme forms of discount travel available, it remains fairly restrictive.

If you’re interested your best bet is to try one or two courier flights and hope that you can establish a good relationship with the company.

Drikus Botha is wellknown for his articles and e-courses.

You can subscribe to his free “Discount Travel” e-course right here

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As most of us are no doubt familiar, there is a huge fluctuation in the prices of airline tickets.

Depending on anything from season, how well traveled the route is, and other reasons that seem more mysterious, flight prices change constantly and radically.

One of the most important things to consider if you’re interested in discount travel is the difference in cost between domestic and international flights, and to use this to your advantage when you want to travel internationally.

In the USA, a typical return flight from New York City to Montreal, Canada, for example costs about $300 for a trip that is just over 1 hour.

For roughly the same price, one can fly domestically across the country from New York to Los Angeles – a much longer trip.

With very few exceptions, flights are cheaper domestically – they are subject to less taxes and regulations for the airlines, and they are often on more traveled routes so the airlines can afford a discount.

So to take advantage of this – to truly get some discount travel – you should look into splitting your long international flight into 2 flights. Although it’s more indirect, and a slight inconvenience, you can save a lot of money this way.

For example, if you happen to live in the northern United States and want to go to Latin or South America, you will probably find that it’s a lot cheaper to first get a domestic flight to a southern hub like Miami or Dallas and then taking a second flight further south.

Even if you live in a big northern city, chances are the direct flight is going to be more. Taking two flights doesn’t have to be as inconvenient as you may think.

Oftentimes, no overnight stay is required, and if your destination is a common one you may only have short delay.

When looking for discount travel solutions online, you’re going to have to use a bit of creative thinking. Most discount flight searching sights are not set-up to search multiple flight routes to your destination. Rather, they are designed to show you the cheapest direct flight between the two points you want to go. So whenever you’re comparing prices of a direct flight, it’s always a good idea to take a look at an indirect path as well – oftentimes you will be surprised at the savings involved.

It is harder to easily compare different 2-flight routes, and the combinations involved can quickly make things complicated.

The two general rules to keep in mind when looking for savings are that you more or less want to fly as close to your destination as possible domestically, and that you want to fly between major hubs.

The cheapest of all domestic flights will always be between major hubs (as our New York to LA example shows) so if you plan your trip with that in mind it’s likely you will experience significant savings.

Discount travel is as much a science as an art, and those that are good at it are able to come up with creative solutions – a great starting point for becoming an experienced discount traveler is to learn about airline hubs and patterns, and to explore taking to separate flights as opposed to one long one when traveling internationally.

Drikus Botha is wellknown for his articles and e-courses.

You can subscribe to his free “Discount Travel” e-course right here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Drikus_Botha

Flying business or first class across the Atlantic has always been out of reach for many travellers. Ticket prices from New York to London normally start around $3000 and can easily reach $7000. Here are some top tips to reduce that airfare and maybe get you in to that premium class cabin.

Tip 1: Fly low-cost MaxJet

Check out the new low-cost all business class options. MaxJet started flying a daily service between London Stansted and New York JFK in November 2005. It operates a 102 seat Boeing 767 with 60 inch seat pitch and provides a multi-course meal. On March 15 2006 they will begin a daily service from Washington Dulles to London Stansted. As a special promotion they are pricing the initial tickets at a tempting $999 return including taxes and fees. The normal airfare will come in as low as $1750 return all inclusive. The pricing works on a first come, first serve basis so book early to get the very best fares.

Their tickets are also now bookable at major online agent Expedia as well as on their own website.

Passengers from the UK are also getting some good deals. Recently the airline had a January post-Christmas offer from London to New York at a very competitive 599 return.

MaxJet are undercutting the major established carriers significantly and it will be interesting to see if this causes any downward pressure on Trans-Atlantic business class ticket prices. Remember how the budget airlines in Europe completely changed the short-haul air market, where you can now find flights for little more than taxes and charges. Also consider how lucrative the Trans-Atlantic market has been in the past for the big airlines, with high revenues gained from business and corporate flyers. 2006 will be an interesting year in commercial aviation from this perspective.

Tip 2: Try First Class Eos Airlines

If you are flying first class Trans-Atlantic you should have a look at Eos Airlines, another recent start-up flying the same London Stansted to New York JFK route. Eos runs a 48 seat Boeing 757 with 78 inch flat beds. The service is a lot more expensive than MaxJet with return tickets starting at $3200 but this product is competing with the high quality first class cabins of British Airways and Virgin Upper Class.

Note, London Stansted is situated north east of London. The Stansted Express train runs between Stansted and Liverpool Street station and the journey takes around 45 minutes.

Tip 3: Fly Off-beat

If flying Trans-Atlantic business class, get price quotations from the more off-beat airlines that you may never have considered. For example, Iceland Air flies from Europe to New York via Reykjavik and can be extremely competitive with business class airfares under $1700. It routinely undercuts the big boys by 30-40% in a bid to poach traffic to route through Iceland rather than fly non-stop.

Some other off-beat airlines ply their trade between the UK and North East USA such as Kuwait Airlines and Air India, which fly from London and New York, and Pakistan International Airlines which serves Manchester, UK to both Chicago and the Big Apple. You can often find some excellent cheap deals on these Middle Eastern and Asian carriers.

Tip 4: Go Premium

If your budget doesn’t stretch as far as business class, then book a premium economy ticket. You will get superior legroom and possibly a better chair than the standard economy class seat. It will also mean that you are more likely to be upgraded for free to business class. This is due to the relatively small number of premium economy seats available – any overbooked situation in economy will overspill to premium economy and you could be bumped up to business class. This doesn’t happen everytime, but choose a busy flight and you will not harm your chances.

Tip 5: Ultimate Upgrades & Airfares Guide

You should invest in the AirTravelGenius Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide. Learn many more insider tips and tricks to maximise your chances of flying business or first class, find the rock-bottom lowest fares worldwide in any class and how to really make the most of your airmiles (most miles are unfortunately wasted). A must for any international air travellers.

Safe flying!

The ‘Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide’ ebook (new 2006 version) is available at http://www.airtravelgenius.com. For only a small investment the secret insider tips and techniques could really save you thousands of pounds, dollars or euros in airfare costs. Invest in yourself and your future travels.

The site also includes further air travel articles that may interest you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Smith

Due to the different timing zones from country to country the health of the travelers is badly affected. In order to cope up with this difference try out the following procedures.

When your arrive during the daytime follow these set of rules:

1) Adjust your watch as per the local timing.

2) Follow a protein-based diet that will keep you active and fresh.

3) Enjoy the mild sunray in the morning.

4) Do some light exercises such as light stretches and walk a little distance to be energetic.

5) Take a short nap if you really feel exhausted say for about 20 minutes or less. Do not go to your bed too early or possibly be awake until 8 or 9 p.m.

If you have arrived during the nighttime you must try to keep yourself drowsy in the following ways.

1. Have meal containing maximum carbohydrates.

2. Plan to sleep during the local time even if you are not feeling sleepy.

3. Create an environment that causes sleepiness such as turning on dim lights and taking a hot bath with lavender oil.

Avoid using beverages like alcohol, caffeine that keeps you awake even during nights. This will cause you dehydration. Do not drive your vehicle when you are exhausted. Let the driver do the job for your safety.

Paul has been providing answers to lots of queries through his website on a wide variety of subjects ranging from satellite phones to acne. To learn more visit http://www.askaquery.com/Answers/qn1561.html

You are welcome to republish the above article only if you add our hyperlinked URL.

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Flying with the airlines can be a time consuming as well as risky proposition for businessmen as well as for people of wealth. If you absolutely, positively must get somewhere fast you are putting your trust in a system that is overcrowded, inconvenient, and failing when you fly with the airlines. What are your options? Rent or lease a private jet. The following list features some of the leading private jet charter operators in the U.S.

Atlantic Aviation Flight Services

Automotive Air Charter

Avjet Corporation

Business Jet Services

Clay Lacy Aviation

Delta AirElite

Elite Aviation

Executive Jet Mgt

FirstFlight Management LLC

Flightworks

Hop-A-Jet

Jet Aviation

Key Air

Million Air

New World Aviation

Petersen Aviation

Priester Aviation

PrivatAir

Regal Aviation

Richmor Aviation

TAG Aviation

The Air Group

Trans-Exec Air Service

One common thread with each of the operators is that they fly large cabin aircraft. This group is defined by — but not limited to — the following types of aircraft:

Gulfstream 450; 550

Boeing Business Jet

Canadair Challenger 604

Bombardier Global Express; 800

Falcon 2000

In each case you get the security of having two highly trained FAA licensed pilots and you can opt for a corporate flight attendant to provide cabin services and safety assistance. These are no King Airs, Lears, and Westwinds you will be flying. Many rent for $7000. per hour on up, but when you are talking about closing on a merger or acquisition in the morning in Dallas and being back in your Boston office in the afternoon, the price is inconsequential.

There are also several operations that will allow you to purchase a portion of a jet. No, you don’t get a wing only, rather — much like a timeshare — you get to use a private jet operated by one of the providers. Chief amongst these specialized providers are:

Netjets

Flexjet

Flight Options

CitationShares

A third option is to approach one of the private jet aircraft brokers who will arrange the trip for you. Chief amongst these types of providers are:

Sentient

Gold Jets

Bluestarjets

Marquis Jet

AirRoyale

All in all, private flying is where it’s at. If you live in the New York area, you can fly out of convenient Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and land at Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles. By avoiding Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports you save precious time and land unruffled in L.A. Who can put a price tag on that?

Matt Keegan writes for business aviation and manages two very busy aviation related communities: http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.aviationemploymentboard.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Keegan

Traveling with infants is always a challenge, more so on long international flights. Some parents in order to keep their infant safe and secure during take off and landing will spend extra money to purchase a child’s fare and therefore a seat for their baby so he or she can be secured in a car seat on the aircraft. A child’s fare typically costs 65 or 75 percent of an adult ticket, whereas an infant ticket costs only 10 percent.

However, not all airlines will allow parents to use a car seat on board. This depends upon the regulations of the country in which the airline is registered.

Alitalia is one such airline. Italian regulations do not allow them to secure infants in a car seat on board their aircraft. Passengers who purchased a child’s fare expecting to use a car seat will be required to purchase a new infant’s ticket at check in and then attempt to refund the child’s ticket through the original agency that issued it. This is not always successful as ticket rules have changed and most tickets are non-refundable.

As Alitalia is a member of the Sky Team Alliance you may purchase a ticket which shows a flight number of one of the other team members but which is actually operated by Alitalia. If this is the case the Alitalia regulations take precedence.

Other members of the Sky Team are Air France, Aero Mexico, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air Lines and Czech Airlines. As Alitalia only flies across the Atlantic from the USA this potential problem would not arise to Korean Air Lines or Aero Mexico destinations.

On Alitalia The passenger traveling with an infant will be allowed to have a stroller or car seat to hold the infant until actual flight boarding. At that point, the stroller/car seat will be tagged and checked in at the gate.

On all other Sky Team flights the passenger traveling with an infant will be allowed to have a stroller for the infant until actual flight boarding. At that point, the stroller will be tagged and checked in at the gate. Only a car seat will be allowed on the aircraft if a seat has been purchased for the infant.

At this time we are not aware of any of the other Alliances, Star or One World, not permitting a child’s fare and a seat to be purchased for an infant. However, we recommend that you check with the airline before purchasing in order to avoid problems at check in after all it is stressful enough traveling with children without adding to it.

Less2Fly.com offers cheap international airfares using airline ticket consolidators.

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