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Local
travel agents
Local travel agents tend to be a reassuring place and, because
they buy so many flights, they can negotiate their own prices
with the airlines, so you should get a better deal. Result:
a return flight that costs £106 per person including security
charges.
Airlines
that sell flights online
There are a number of no-frills airlines where costs are reduced
by booking online, thus cutting out the travel agents' commission.
Easyjet sells the largest proportion of their seats online,
but only sell Easyjet flights. The cheapest price quoted here
involved travelling out and back at antisocial hours (in this
case, 3.30am and 1.30am respectively).
If
you're among the first to go online when the flights first become
available, you might be able to get it for half price, so it
may pay to book early. Result: a return flight that costs £110
per person including all taxes.
Websites
that sell flights online
Many other websites offer flights from all sorts of carriers.
ebookers, for instance, buy up huge ticket allocations from
airlines and then sell them online. The result of this should
be low prices because the airline gives them big discounts and
it's always a scheduled flight. Charter flights tend to suffer
more delays and this can be important to some people. The overheads
are low because you do all the booking yourself on the internet.
Result: a return direct scheduled flight that costs £109
including tax (outward travelling at 3pm).
Teletext
Every morning tour operators pump out special deals and you
may find prices here that you won't find elsewhere. Using remote
control and phone, in one hour Matt had found a return flight
from Gatwick on Monarch Airlines. Result: a return flight at
a cost of £89.
On
standby
If you don't have two weeks to book and you want a last-minute
deal, you could try one more place. If you're prepared to get
to Flight Line at Gatwick airport at 5am and pay cash, you stand
the chance of getting a flight for as little as £65. It's
a one-way ticket though - the Flight Line International shop
in Malaga will sell you one to come back - and you can stay
as long as you want. It's a standby ticket, so there's a slim
chance that you could be waiting around a while for a flight
with a spare seat
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