How to get the best deal for your air ticket

In an interaction with CNBC-TV18, Sunil Gupta talks about different options for air ticket booking, check fares and the emergence of low cost airlines.

On air ticket booking
Information on flights is either available on the net, or on the websites of various airlines flying that sector. If a ticket is purchased online, one has to pay using one's credit card.

The best bet is to go to a travel agent who has all the information on different flights on different sectors and can assist you with acquiring the best possible deal, if you are not comfortable with online bookings. One has to be well informed about the deals available on various airlines, and compare them to arrive at the best deal.

On the check fares for an airline
The fares for any airline for any sector depends upon the dates of travel. Check fares that are divided into different levels, can be availed of. These fares are available till the day of travel. It allows a traveler to make advance booking, as well as emergency bookings on a lower fare than the actual ticket rate. Check fares are flexible and can be booked online and almost all airlines offer them today. The concept of apex fare does not apply in today's scenario, since the airlines have moved to this model.

On low cost airlines
 These Airlines are Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) or No Frills Airlines. There is no catch behind their low fares. The name suggests that these airlines cut down on certain full service frills, inorder to cut down on their operational costs.

For instance, LCC's do not offer its customers food, like a full service airline. The cost of food is not included in your ticket. If the passenger wants food, they have to purchase it. There are various other ways in which airlines cut down on their operational costs, like by reducing the number of stewardesses on a flight, e-ticketing instead of manual ticketing, shorter turnaround time etc.

The LCC's target audience are the AC first class and AC second class train passengers, and hence their fares are in tandem with the railway fares. LCC's are a convenient means of getting from point to point in a shorter time, minus the paraphernalia of a full service airline.