Q – (12.9/24) – No one would deny that this is an unusually honest and helpful site, but I do have one criticism I hope you will consider. Whatever destination or mode of exploration you are discussing, the fact is that we need to fly there. So I think it would be extremely helpful to include more insider air advice whenever it relates to any of the questions posed. Just a suggestion. You seem to avoid air advice rather than take a deep dive into it.
A – Fair enough – we are not air experts and, in fact, we do not believe that our business should be processing air arrangements. Our strengths lie in worldwide vacation planning. Air is a much more specialized field than many in the industry would acknowledge. Our approach is to outsource air for our clients to the very best air experts in the nation. We think that air has become a more complex component of the vacation planning matrix. Dynamic pricing and shortages of aircraft, pilots, and air traffic controllers is causing an increasing number of cancellations. So we want everyone we work with to have their own Concierge monitoring their flights for any changes or cancellations. We do not advise purchasing any airline ticket from any online firm that does not provide personalized flight monitoring services.
If you want to hear airline insider buzz from experts you may want to start following the following sites:
- View from The Wing
- The Cranky Flier
- The Points Guy
- The New York Times Travel Newsletter
- Travel Weekly Magazine
- Travel Pulse
All of that said – we will leave you with just a little bit of gossip/valuable air information that we hope may be useful:
- When the Chinese tourism market opens up to its full potential, many airline executives expect to see pricing come down on international flights. This is particularly true of some of the better government-owned and controlled carriers.
- US major airlines need to turn a profit – that is not a major issue for several of the world’s leading international carriers based in Asia and particularly the Middle East. Plane for plane – the Middle East currently provides the highest levels of service and dependability in the air. They also have the best record when it comes tot he number of flight cancellations.
- International carriers vary in terms of how they handle refunds to consumers. Currently, TAP, the airline of Portugal, and Air Canada have the poorest reputation when it comes to refunds related to issues of guest satisfaction.
- Some international frequent fliers will tell you they try to connect overseas through Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. (Although the airport is technically in Virginia) This is particularly true when the flights are headed to the Gulf Region. It is thought that there are “Diplomatic” reasons for favorable pricing.
- It is not a bad idea to do your flight searching with Google flights. They have a feature that allows you to request updates when the price of the flights you are interested in are heading south.
