What do sun, surf, wine, koala's, and a long flight have in common? YEP, you got it AUSTRALIA! The most awful part about the above mentioned is the long journey but how do you get there feeling like you have gotten your bang for that buck... well, it does not all come down to how much was spent, it comes down to what other things you can do with your airfare.

For example, how many people take advantage of those stopovers that majority of airlines offer? Did you know that most airlines will always land in their hub ( home) country? and usually will allow you to have a free stopover there, when choosing an airline to travel with think about where else you could visit that is on your wish list and choose an airline which will allow you to see an extra country or 2 in the mix.. Here are a few examples... Have you always wanted to see Singapore, Japan, and Australia?, fly from North America with Singapore Airlines, not only can you stop in these countries, you can add extras on for minimal costs, plus did you know that Singapore Airlines offer a fantastic stopover program when you fly with them and stay over in Singapore, where else can you get a room for under 100 bucks per night for 2 people including return airport transfers and other benefits!!

So, you want to visit your relatives in Europe, then holiday in Asia and New Zealand, well look at an airline which has it's airport hub in Europe, British Airways, or even Singapore Airlines flies out of Europe, you can do many different airline connections and see so many different places all for approx (may be some extra airport taxes) the same price as going directly from A to B.

But what about those seat sales that always come out, you ask... well those so called seat sales are not always as good as they seem, you see airlines only release so many seats per flight on those seat sales, so the whole aircraft is not on sale, and if you sit and wait for a sale to come out and those 10 or so seats that were released on that flight are sold out then guess what, you pay more than you ever originally were going to pay! Why not get in early and get what you want in the first place. A Travel Expert will know how to make sure you are truly getting what you paid for, that is our job.

Why should I use a Travel Agent when I can be one myself online? ... well we have 2 things the consumer does not have, we have more pull with airlines and hotels etc when things go wrong, yes that is right you book it yourself and you are but one or 2 people complaining, we book it for you and we are many thousands of potential clients that they may not ever get if they do not do the right thing by us, we also have a way closer relationship with the airlines etc and get the inside scoop way earlier... Next off we see all combinations of different flights and airfares, we know that just because you have 2 flights on the same airline ticket it may not mean neither of the airlines have to help you if you are delayed, we know exactly what seats are left on a flight because we are linked directly into the airlines own reservations system, and we also see way more deals and better airfares than you will ever find on the internet, rules and airfares are changing almost every hour these days and we as travel experts stay on top of them. When Sept 11th happened I had so many calls from people begging for help who had all booked online, unfortunately they found out the hard way, the computer does not talk when hiccups happen with travel arrangements.

So I will leave you with this, remember cheap is not always best, just like going to a dollar store, you can get what you paid for, look for benefits when choosing an airfare these are truly what will save you money in the long run.

Happy Travels.

Cheers Dianne.