Discount Airfare: ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines, the 10th largest U.S. passenger airline, offers low fares and scheduled service to over 40 domestic destinations, as well as selected international destinations . ATA, founded in 1973, officially changed its name from American Trans Air in 2003.
With its headquarters in Indianapolis, ATA has major gateways in Chicago-Midway, Indianapolis, St. Petersburg, FL, San Francisco and Los Angeles. ATA Charter is the largest North American operator of charter services.
We did a sample search for some mainstream plane trips, and found ATA's fares to be very low indeed, especially if you're willing to travel on a "red-eye" flight, which ATA offers on some heavily-traveled routes we tried.
ATA seems to have some very happy customers - here is an excerpt from a gentleman who traveled from Boston to San Francisco:
"I normally don’t endorse travel by air. Airlines are all pretty much the same, or so they want us to believe. Yet, after I purchased my round-trip to the San Francisco VFP Convention, I continue to be impressed by this company: ATA, known as “An honestly different airline” is based in Indianapolis. They offer the lowest cross-country round trip airfare to be found! This was a big plus, as my convention plans could stand to save some money!
I was not only impressed by the ability to ride the same plane from Boston to San Francisco, but by the friendliness of its staff. When I asked about their convention discount, they stated, “10%” off the published fare. Well, knowing the games retailers play with prices, I imagined it possibly not worth the effort. Yet, when I asked about booking today, they went one better! They offered “more” than 10% off, for a total of $295 round-trip, cross-country, coast-to-coast! Since Boston is possibly among one of the further destinations, I am guessing that ATA’s prices from all over the country will be the same, or possibly less!..."
General Info On Saving Big Money on Airfare Online
The internet has become the best way to instantly find the best deals on discount airfare. For starters, many airlines have internet-only specials on their sites. In fact, you can subscribe to their newsletter and get alerted to special rates that are often well below the norm. Southwest for one is great for this - I have cashed in on their email specials several times.
There are sites like priceline.com, expedia, travelocity, cheaptickets.com, hotwire and others who constantly check the major airlines for bargains. And even sites that many people aren't aware of like Qixo that checks all available sites for the best rates.
There are also ways to save large amounts of money on airline flights if you're willing to do a little work on your own. Many major airlines have a program where you can go down to the airport and sign up as a standby passenger. If they have a seat left after everyone is in, you get on the plane for a greatly reduced rate. This is particularly useful for students wanting to travel cheaply abroad on their summer vacations. I've seen this work many times. The other little-known way to save on travel is by signing up as a courier. Courier Travel can get you a flight for almost nothing and sometimes even free! The International Association of Air Travel Couriers can get you signed up for this.
Another way to get free flights or free first class upgrades is to get bumped on purpose. There is an art to this - learn more here.
Here's a good link if you want to know how the online discount airfare companies work.
Sources for Cheap Airfare
Click Here to See Hotwire's Hottest New Deals on Travel!
Airfare.com Get cheap airfare - super easy interface to quickly search for the best rates on airfare.
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