Tips to Finding Really Cheap Airline Tickets

Finding really cheap airline tickets online

Looking for a really good deal on flights? Here are some of the best strategies used to find really cheap airline tickets online.

1) Really Cheap Airline Tickets: Last minute flights

Often you'll find really cheap airline tickets posted at the last minute. Airline hate having open seats and they will often announce a really cheap airline ticket deal hours or somethings a few days before take-off.

2) Really Cheap Airline Tickets: Be Flexible

When you're looking for really cheap airline tickets the best way to begin your search is but setting yourself a target price. Once you've found a really cheap airline ticket, you should work your travel dates around to accommodate the airline ticket special.

3) Really Cheap Airline Tickets: Alternative Airports

Using nearby airports is one of the easiest ways to find really cheap airline tickets.

Shop around for airports since flying into a secondary airport of a major city may be cheaper. For travel to San Francisco, check the fares to Oakland or San Jose. For Chicago, check Midway. For Los Angeles, check Long Beach and Ontario. For Washington, D.C., check Baltimore. For New York City, check Newark.


Gino

The History of the Aircraft Wash Guys, Part Two

The continuation of the history of a small service franchise business in the aviation sector; whose humble beginnings began in the middle of a recession. This proves that anything is possible and that with enough will and entrepreneurial spirit no matter what the condition of your industry sector, you can succeed in America. Now then to continue the saga; Twelve year old Lance Winslow, the founder is almost twenty years old and is making a name for himself at several local airports. It is still a long road ahead but slowly the journey progresses like it has for countless young entrepreneurs before him. We continue:

One day when Lance sold an aircraft to Dave, who Founded The LA Title Company (A Real Estate and Title Company) The gentleman had worked for California Land and Title Company for ten years prior and he took a interesting in the self motivated young man. Lance and Dave talked about franchising and a possible partnership to franchise the business. Both loved the idea, Lance because it was his dream and Dave because he loved the aircraft washing services, which he contracted through Lance after he bought the plane from him. One day after having lunch in Lance's office they started doodling on a napkin the basic idea for the franchise in aircraft washing. The Founder of LA Title company liked the synergy of aircraft sales and aircraft washing for built in clientele. They also discussed washing cars and trucks, but Lance had barely gotten a driver's license so he could finally drive off the airport onto a public street although he had picked up some juicy accounts already.

Later he changed the name of the business to Aero-Auto Wash to encompass all types of washing, from Aircraft to Cars. At that time we washed for Evergreen Airlines, Evergreen Airspur, Offshore Oil Helicopter Companies, GTE Flight Services, FBOs, Jet Charters, Fractional Jet Companies, Flight Schools, Flying Clubs, Confederate Airforce, Civil Air Patrol, FBI, Military, Air National Guard, US Air Force, FAA Certified Repair Stations, Commuter Airlines, Air Ambulance Services,Air Charter and countless general aviation private owners with everything from EAA Biplanes to Aerostar 601s.

Lance even washed for Mr. Delorean, several movie stars and many founders of large companies; one of the coolest jobs around. Lance found synergies in the different washing businesses. Someone who owned an airplane most likely owned a business, was a farmer, high-ranking executive and if not certainly knew others who were. Thus built in clientele in nearly every industry and after flying around all over California he noticed things on the ground that needed his services. Mr. Winslow still uses aerial pictures and mapping to target accounts to this day.

The business plan on a napkin franchising idea lay dormant from 1985 to until 1993 when Lance went to go re-visit the Founder of LA Title at his Burbank, CA corporate high rise office building. Lance was ready to go for his dream and needed to get some venture capital about 1-2 million. At that time the Founder of LA Title was not interested seeing the enormity of such an undertaking and instead provided Lance with his expertise and advice for free and a confidential copy of the LA Title Business Plan for Lance to review and use to help him devise a winning business plan. Lance searched around for venture capital for about a year and gave up in disgust, venture capitalists were too dumb to understand the incredible opportunity in the marketplace; he thought. To compound things they did not think a guy who left school could handle such an undertaking. Lance had quit college to run the expanding business. He felt college was superficial and that he had more experience and a better sense of reality than the textbooks of yester year being taught by Professors who had never actually run a business of any kind. By that time Lance had been operating in many other industries such as Agriculture Cleaning, Concrete Cleaning, Fleet Washing, Auto Detailing, Car Washing and of course Aviation.

www.tractorwashguys.com

www.concretewashguys.com

www.truckwashguys.com

www.carwashguys.com

www.detailguys.com

Lance was looking to take all his knowledge and bring it to the market on a big scale starting in California and then the Sun Belt States and eventually into Europe. Without any success in finding venture capital, Lance continued his business, got into politics and at nights, sometimes all night writing up plans to fulfill his mission. Spending countless sleepless nights writing over 1 million words into manuals, marketing plans, Business Plans, etc. he was convinced that he had to move forward. Lance Winslow's business plan got so big 400 plus pages that he could not even call it a business plan anymore and named it FranPlan. During this time Lance also became involved in motorcycle street racing, the speed did not bother him much, so he did quite well. Lance also got into trouble for flying under a bridge although his friend an FAA Examiner gave him a warning, "If you ever try anything like that again, I'll have you thrown in jail, now get the hell out of here!!"

End Part II

By Lance Winslow

Secrets to Finding Really Cheap Airline Tickets Online

Knowing where to find really cheap airline tickets is the first step to shopping for the best airfares online but once you've overcome this little hurdle on your race to getting really cheap airline tickets you'll need to know how to book the cheapest airfares.

Let's say you've found a great website that offers really cheap airline tickets online - like lastminutetravel.com or hotwire.com, you'll need to know when you'll find the best airfares and how to gain from those airline ticket bargains.

Here are two secrets to finding really cheap airline tickets online:

Using the Alternate City strategy:

The average airfare for a round-trip from Chicago to Paris might cost you about $1000 during winter months. For a family of 4 this would be a big cost in they travel budget. But by using the alternate city or nearby airport strategy you could save up to 50% on your airfare. Here's how you can get really cheap airline tickets using this strategy.

So let's say you're looking for international airline tickets, you'll be flying from Chicago to Paris round-trip - the normal airline ticket price would be about $1000.

But instead of flying to Paris, you book a flight to nearby Brussels and then take a short road trip down to Paris. You'll get really cheap airline tickets from Chicago to Brussels and save up to $300 on traveling alone.

Often after all your searching for really cheap airline tickets, you may find your flight has been overbooked. Strangely airline over book their flights regularly, I suppose its one way of ensuring that their flights are fully booked.

But if you're the unlucky one to get bumped from the flight - you have a legal right to compensation. Many experienced air travelers know that getting bumped can be very inconvenient by as with anything to do with air travel - if you're willing to be flexible you'll be rewarded with some really cheap airline tickets deals.

Many experienced travelers would actually volunteer to be the one to get bumped from the flight and take a later flight to the same destination ora flight to a nearby destination.

The airline will compensate these travelers for the major inconvenience by granting them extra frequent flier miles, really really cheap airline tickets in future or even FREE AIRLINE TICKETS.

There are some big advantages to getting bumped from your flight, so if this should ever happen to you - be aware of your options and press the airline into given you a free airline ticket or a really cheap airline ticket deal in return.

Apart from really cheap airline ticket deals - the airline may also give you travel vouchers and free meal tickets while you wait for your next flight. At times you could be treated like VIPs for getting bumped.

MORE TIPS TO FINDING CHEAP AIRLINE TICKETS:
Finding really cheap airline tickets

By Gino Sterling

A Look at Fractional Jet Ownership

We've all experienced it - the commercial flight. After a mad dash to make it to the airport on time, including the hours allotted for getting through security, where you'll have to take off your shoes, empty your pockets, and prove that your laptop is not a bomb, you sit and wait for a couple hours before they decide to start boarding, and give you the privilege of sitting in the cramped seat that you paid a couple hundred dollars for.

The mega-rich have always had the option of private aircraft available to them. If you're Donald Trump, you can think nothing of equipping yourself with a Boeing 727 that costs probably close to $50 Million (not including the costs of pilots, flight attendants, support staff, insurance, fuel, maintenance, etc.). For others, however, the idea of a private jet has been outside the realm of possibility. An exciting concept in private aviation, however, is allowing private jet travel to make more sense for those who have seriously considered it as a possibility.

Fractional jet ownership is a fairly new concept. It is based on the idea that an individual can purchase a fraction of a plane, and pay management and operation fees to a company that will be responsible for safety, pilot training, hiring of crew, and all those other things that you don't want (or wouldn't know how) to deal with. Fractional ownership can substantially cut the costs of owning your own aircraft.

Fractional jet ownership is provided by a number of companies, including Cessna's CitationShares, Bombardier's Flexjet, and NetJets, the company that started the trend. As consumer interest in fractional jet ownership has increased, so has the competition between these companies. CitationShares and Flexjet are owned by aircraft manufacturers, their respective fleets composed mainly (if not entirely) of the planes they make. NetJets, on the other hand features a broader spectrum of aircraft, and is the industry leader. As such, that's who we'll be focusing on today.

It is true that the fractionals substantially cut the costs related to owning an aircraft. That's not to say that private jet ownership is for everyone, however. The primary target of the fractionals consists of those who have considered owning (or sharing) a jet, but found the arrangements too complicated or expensive to justify, as well as those who are used to first class air travel, but want to make a step up. The fractionals are also an attractive deal for mid-sized companies who need the convenience of a private aircraft without the premium price. According to NetJets's website, purchasing a 1/8 share in a Raytheon Hawker 400XP would set you back $793,750 plus a $10,582 monthly maintenance fee, and an hourly charge of $1,501. That 1/8 share works out to about 100 occupied hours per year. Yeah, it's expensive, but when you consider the price of seven first class tickets from New York to Miami, it suddenly becomes more reasonable. In fact, as a little experiment, I attempted to get the price on such a flight on very short notice. NetJets claims that your plane will be waiting on the tarmac within 6-12 hours notice. With a commercial carrier, I was unable to find a next-day flight, I was unable to find first class seating, and on one airline, I was informed that a return flight wouldn't be available until a week after the date I requested. If short notice flights are commonplace in your life, NetJets offers the solution.

Let's say, however, that you aren't interested in a small aircraft like the 400XP. What if you want something that can fly from New York to London non-stop? Well, just step into one of NetJets's large cabin aircraft. If you are lucky enough to afford these multi-million dollar jets, you will enjoy the highest degree of luxury. The Gulfstream 550, for example, is the latest and greatest in Gulfstream's line of long-haul private aircraft. Aboard, you will find a satellite telephone, video monitors, a DVD entertainment system, data ports, a fax machine, and whatever else you need to run your operations (or enjoy some well-deserved down time) at 30,000 ft. Naturally, the Gulfstream 550 also offers a full service galley, as well as a flight attendant for you and 13 others.

The final frontier in fractional ownership is the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). If you've ever flown on Boeing's popular line of 737 airliners, you know how big the BBJ is. That's because the BBJ is actually a gutted 737, which is then outfitted with the latest in in-flight luxury. In fact, the BBJ is even available with a boardroom, bedrooms, and a shower. Yeah..... a shower. Nothing says success like the ability to roll out of bed, take a shower, eat a nice breakfast - all while you cut through the air at 528 mph. If the $50,000,000.00 price tag (full price) is a little disturbing, owning a fraction with NetJets can take a large chunk out of it.

Fractional shares start at 1/16 of a share, which can be as low as $369,875 in a Hawker 400XP. That's 50 hours of flying time. For those who don't want the commitment (or the cost) of buying a fraction, NetJets has implemented a lower-cost solution that they call the Marquis Jet Card. The Marquis Jet Card starts at $109,900 for 25 hours in a Cessna Citation V. With the Marquis Jet Card, required notice jumps up to 10 hours, which is still much better than anything the airlines can offer. The card offers the convenience of chartering an aircraft, with the peace of mind that you get from NetJets's safety standards. Other fractional carriers also have prepaid jet cards, so this is a [somewhat] affordable solution for those who don't want to deal with the monthly or upfront costs of ownership.

If you decide that fractional ownership is for you, be warned, you should thoroughly investigate the pilot training, safety procedures, aircraft, and management services that each company offers before making a decision. The big three, NetJets, CitationShares, and Flexjet, offer excellence in each, but some newer fractional start-ups may not be up to snuff. Remember that your security and safety is paramount, and if you feel that it's inadequate with a particular company, take your business elsewhere. If you're serious about making a fractional jet purchase, and live nearby to their operations, don't hesitate to ask for a tour of their aircraft and facilities, they should be more than happy to accommodate you. Many fractional operators hold regular events around the country in which prospective buyers can take a look around the aircraft and the service that they offer.

Fractional jet ownership offers the best of luxury, security, and functionality without the premium total ownership requires. If you've been considering buying or chartering private aircraft, fractional ownership just may be for you.

By Jonas Elmerraji

I Am Afraid Of Flying; You Are Not Getting Me A Light Plane

Boy I have heard it all from my friends. I am afraid of flying. I am afraid of heights. I do not trust you as a pilot; yah thanks? You are not getting me in a light plane, sober; fine have a drink? I am not joining the mile high club; well that is what she said at first? You are not getting me in one of those contraptions; they always crash. Over the years, I have heard every excuse. But each time I have over come their objections; all I hear is thank you and remember that time we flew over such and such or so in so's house? Just too funny really.

Look flying is fun, there is nothing that is more fun, it is as fun as sex and all pilots know that. It is exhilarating to fly over the harbor, your neighborhood, your employment; but the best is flying over a traffic jammed freeway and just sailing by at a couple hundred knots. Looking down and saying; "those poor suckers, just look at them, they look like a bunch of matchbox cars." Flying expands your world or horizons. It use to be said that a person's physical world really only extended one day's travel. As far as you can travel in a day; in days gone by that would be on a horse 50-65 miles. Later it was by car about 300 to 400 miles comfortably. Today if you have a pilot's license it would almost 1000 miles, think about it. Those who travel on business in corporate jets it expands their abilities and size of their horizons. Those who travel by airliners now do business in many countries in the world. Even China is only about 2-days a way by airliner, by the time you wait at the airports, fly and deplane. Yes, a real ass flattener, no doubt about it, but modern air travel has brought our world together and expanded our horizons.

Back to the; "I am afraid to fly," scenario. No you aren't you are simply fearing what you do not understand. Tell you what you need to do. Go up for an introductory flight, it costs under $100.00 and when you land you tell me if you are really afraid of flying. I know what your answer will be, do you? Expand your horizon and see for yourself. Think about it.

By Lance Winslow

The History of the Aircraft Wash Guys, Part One

Business scholars and students throughout recent periods have studied the fascinating business model of franchising. In the most history of commerce under a common currency from Amsterdam forward to the Global Power House of the United States of America we have seen franchises lead the way. The first franchise was said to be that of the Singer Sewing Machine. Yet if one were to carefully study the Catholic Church or even colonialism itself you can see that franchising or at least its structure is all over mankind's creations. This is on of the reasons we study franchising and franchised companies. From Ray Kroc at McDonalds to the modern day automaker dealerships, we see franchising's mark all over our civilization.

However rarely do we study the makings and grass roots humble beginnings of niche franchise companies. This article is about the history of just such a company. It is intriguing to read how franchises occur naturally in free market systems. Below is the story of how the Aircraft Wash Guys wash founded and how they got started in the Aircraft Washing Business. Although there is tremendous data and written articles to back it up, the story is written from a fictional point of view and opinion, so we do not intend to try to prove anything to anyone, nor do we want to get the founders in any trouble for the fun of the past. We claim freedom of speech, of the press in its entirety since a good part of it is opinion based. This of course should be familiar to any of those who have read the history of McDonalds in Ray Kroc's "Grinding it Out" or Subway Sandwich Story; "Start Small, finish Big."

The Aircraft Guys was not always called the Aircraft Wash Guys. The founder Mr. Lance Winslow's original company at age 12 was Speedy Waxers. He stared with partners. Andrew Rice and Mark Daily, who father both owned aircraft too. In Lance's family they had a Piper Colt, two-seater, which Lance had some 80 flying hours in. Andrew's dad bought a Cessna 150 and Mark's dad had Bellanca Decathlon and a Beech Bonanza. It was in the business of aircraft washing and waxing. Mark Daily became a businessman, Andrew Rice joined the Air Force. All three were in the Civil Air Patrol at the time. Andrew and Lance were also in the Boy Scout Aviation Explorers. Lance eventually came to own the business by himself and later sold this business to a friend, Glen Tierney, who was in the Junior ROTC. This was in 1979 at Camarillo Airport (CMA) in California near the Coast above Los Angeles. After selling Speedy Waxers, Lance went to work for a local McDonald's as an employee, for Clay Passion, Franchisee, who owned a Beechcraft Debonair that Lance use to wash on a weekly basis. Clay was a long time customer and his office staff were Car Washing customers for at least a decade in Lance's other company the Car Wash Guys; www.carwashguys.com . Clay promised Lance a quick advancement due to his previous business experience and aircraft washing loyalty. Lance was waiting for a turn to go into training to be an assistant manager. Meanwhile he read Ray Kroc's book and studied every single manual and videotape in the place and how every single detail was accounted for. WOW, he thought, this is how you really do it, this is when Lance decided he would emulate Ray Kroc whenever he could. Glen Tierney later joined the Air Force five months later and left the business.Lance recontacted all the customers and went back into business under the name Aero Wash, and then set up more units at Santa Paula Airport, Van Nuys, Oxnard Airport and even got accounts in Santa Barbara. Back then we washed 135 aircraft per week at approximately $10.00 each. (Can you imagine those prices today?)

Back then Lance thought he would try aircraft sales, however he was young and naive and nobody would give me a chance. He knew he would do well, he happen to know just about everyone at five different airports, contacts for sales would be a no-brainer. Not only was he young, but he was small for his age. It was hard enough to get people to let him wash their planes at age 12 let alone sell planes at age 15. So at 15 he formed an aircraft finders fee business and asked a commission for referring buyers. This was when the ITC-Investment tax credit was taken away, America was still in the energy crisis with high fuel prices and luxury tax law went into affect the next year and killed General Aviation. We still had the aircraft washing business, but Lance now armed with a driver's license at sixteen knew no limits. He started washing fleets for utility companies, California Highway Patrol, Post Office Jeeps, anything. At the time we had several Independent contractors we called "franchisees." Of course at the time Lance didn't really understand the total extent of what franchising was, he understood McDonald's and attention to details, but was only starting to grasp what he would some day become. Lance was winning in the market in the middle of the recession, he said we do not participate in recessions. We are good at the down times too, we have been there and we won and we understand the market and the sectors we are in. Here are some articles in the beginning. www.carwashguys.com/history/beginning.html

www.carwashguys.com/history/hist2.html

www.carwashguys.com/history/hist3.html

www.carwashguys.com/history/museum2.shtml

www.carwashguys.com/history/museum3.shtml

www.carwashguys.com/history/museum6.shtml

Lance started a company he called Speedy Aircraft Finders. As part of this business he started the first Aircraft Multi-Listing Service, which was online. Although the Internet was not really being used yet and TRS 80's were just hitting the market. He used dumb terminals and watts lines to send aircraft brokers updated listings. He sold approximately 40 or so aircraft back then and assisted other brokers in doing the same. He took on two partners and later they were able to squeeze lance out of the pattern. Two years later one of the gentleman later went to prison for embezzlement when he sold the same aircraft to three people, the other reprimanded on another deal and eventually lost everything.

Lance after being forced to sell his third of the business went to work for Air Camarillo and started the Aircraft Sales Department determined to out-sell those gentlemen. He did and everyone else too. Although he really did not like to do sales, he loved to fly the aircraft for sale. Sometimes he would insist that every buyer fly every single aircraft on the line for sale and many that Lance had brokered agreements, before they were allowed to make and offer, sign a conditional sales contract or buy an airplane. Thus Lance got more flying time in lots of cool aircraft and he doubts he ever had an unhappy customer, they always gave referrals and always came back. It was through this high volume of sales that Mira Slovak, a famous Russian Defector during the Cold War, came to Lance with a proposition to help him sell Partnavias. An Italian Built Aircraft, which Mira had the North American rights to sell. Lance became a dealer for that brand too.

One day Mira shows up in an Italian Bi-Plane and asks Lance if he wants to go for a ride. Lance says sure. Lance and Mira Slovak inventor of the aircraft maneuver the Lumshovak, fly to 300 AGL and do the inverted snap roll entry cartwheel and tumble through the sky. Lance was then hooked on aerobatics. There was a time when if Lance could not cage the gyros and in a plane so he could do a spin or a barrel roll or in aerobatic aircraft do a loop or tail slide he just wouldn't fly. He got over that quick enough, sometimes it gives you a real head ache.

End Part I

By Lance Winslow

Airport Noise Reduction

Do you live near an airport and cannot stand the noise? Many of us do. Generally the airport was there before us however. In some cases the little airplanes turned into full-blown airliners. Reducing airport noise can be achieved by using sound waves towards the noise area. One way to do this is to use a similar noise or sound wave and point it above the homes in a flat directional set of beams like a funnel.

By sending the waves up they would meet with the sound from the aircraft and cancel out the noise from the airport. There are a few issues with this of course as it would effect other types of signals such as satellite radio and TV and local radio stations would be a little choppy. This strategy of course could be used for many things such canceling out train noise or freeway noise. Think of it as a virtual sound wall. Sound is a Sin Wave and creating another wave opposite to it you can cancel out the highs. The high pitched sound which makes it impossible to hear and almost impossible to think.

Often we over look the obvious things to problems in our society instead we blame municipalities, military and airplanes. Yet when you think about it transportation is almost as important in a civilization as the flow of communication. Military aircraft well that is just the sound of freedom; general public airports are too; freedom to jump on a plane and go almost anywhere in the world. Got noise? Get Smart. Think on this next time you find yourself complaining about the noise of an airport?

By Lance Winslow