Wednesday 19 June 2019

HOW CAN YOU SAVE MONEY WHILE TRAVELLING?




You can call me stingy if you choose to, but while travelling I am very conscious about how I spend my hard earned money. In an ideal world the more you spend, the more you get. That is all right but the next question you should be asking yourself is that do you need it? Ideally the logic is that the more money you spend, the more the more exciting experience you enjoy and the better time you have. But unfortunately that's not always the case. While some travel luxuries are definitely worth the money you spend on them, plenty of others are not. These aren't rip-offs or scams – they're simply indulgences or added extras that are supposed to make your travelling life more enjoyable.

But they're simply not worth it. For travellers looking to save a few bucks, these are the luxuries you can easily afford to miss out on.

Travel clothing
Trust me, you don't need travel clothing. I went to do the Kailash & Mansarovar yatra with a good sports shoe and proper insulation and wind cheaters. No fancy hiking boots, costly sun glasses and fancy head covers were ever required. Unless you're participating in a specialist activity, something like hiking or cycling or mountain-climbing, there's really no need for branded gear that comes from a travel store. Just wear the clothes you always wear: you'll fit in much better, and you'll save plenty of money.

Multi-lounge access passes
I've looked into a few of these passes, given I travel so often and I'm not a gold or platinum frequent flyer with any airline, and they just don't seem worth the money. This is what the usual deal is: you pay membership, you get a card, and you get access to a certain number of participating airline lounges around the world. The thing is, with most memberships you'll still have to pay per entry into the lounges, plus those lounges are nowhere near as luxurious as you're probably picturing, and pass holders will be the first to be knocked back if they're getting too busy. Airport all around the world are getting more and more customer friendly and instead of sitting in the golden lounge you can spend quality time in Changi admiring all the greenery and nature or Schiphol tasting the varied cuisines of Europe or Hong Kong enjoying the IMAX cinema!

Bottled water
Filtered, clean water sold in sealed bottles is a necessity in some developing countries of Africa and Asia. But in plenty of others it's not. You can drink tap water, the same as you do at home – there's no need to shell out $4 a pop for stuff that's been put in a bottle. You'll save money by avoiding an unnecessary cost, and save the planet by reducing single-use plastics. In many airports like IGI New Delhi and CSM Mumbai you can drink straight from the water fountains and with a little bit of practice you shirt won’t get wet either!

Rental car insurance
Rent a car is convenient but the insurance can be a trap. Doesn't matter what you choose on the website when you book, when you get to the counter to pick up your hire care you'll be upsold on the insurance. Do you want comprehensive insurance, they'll ask? With zero excess? It sounds tempting, but if you have travel insurance already, or insurance provided by your credit card company, you're probably already covered. No need to be insured twice. So being aware of your insurance status beforehand saves money!

The finest dining
The foodie that I am this is my weakness, but I have changed of late. I used to think that to sample the best food in the world, it was worth shelling out an insane amount of money every now and then. I thought you could justify spending  big bucks on an up-market Sushi restaurant in Tokyo but now I know that better sushi and of lot many variety are available at much cheaper rates and all you have to do is ask any local, preferably a student. Pizza is definitely different in Altrove and Ego Bistorot in Rome from what you get in Pizza Hut a few blocks away but smaller pizzerias like Mamma Roza and De Remo are equally good and much cheaper! Always rely on word of mouth to find authentic joints that cook local favorites with good quality ingredients and do not go for the flashiest neon sign on Times Square. 

Business class
I've been lucky to fly business class a few times, and it's a total game-changer. Everything is easier, from check-in to security to boarding to the flight itself. People address you by name. There's a bar to hang out at when you're bored. I've absolutely loved those experiences. However, could I justify paying for business class? When a corporate or a University pays for my ticket it is all right but would I consider spending five or six times the economy fare just to fly in comfort? No. I would rather plan another trip!

Choosing your seat
If you're travelling with your family, paying extra to choose your seat when you book an air ticket is annoying, but necessary. I book well in advance and choose the window seat as soon as I am allowed to book online. If you're travelling with a loved one or a friend you really want to sit next to on a flight that's likely to be crowded, it's also something you'll just have to do or else you may have to pay extra. However, for those travelling alone, particularly on short-haul flights, paying extra to choose your seat is just not worth it.

Excess baggage
Anyone who's looked into the cost of dragging a few extra kilos of check-in luggage along with them would already know how prohibitively expensive the fees are. It's cheaper to send your goods by air freight and meet them at your destination than pay to take them on board. If you have a full fare ticket the airlines will allow you 30 Kg on international and 15 Kg on domestic routes bur budget airlines may not allow you so much. So please confirm your baggage limits and stick to it.

Bellhop service
I am from Lucknow, the city of Nawabs, where having a few courtiers around is more style than comfort, even if they are holding only your umbrella and carrying only your ticket! But I must admit this style has not rubbed on me yet. It doesn't cost a lot to have a friendly bellhop drag your wheelie luggage up to your hotel room – maybe only a few rupees. But still, you have wheelie luggage. It's not really necessary to have someone else drag it.

Expensive resorts and hotels
Surely they offer value for money and if you are out on a vacation to relax and recharge your batteries go for them. With massage, spa, and Ayurvedic extravaganza you will return a changed person! But if you are out on a sightseeing trip stay in a comfortable hotel near the city so that you spend less on both your stay and commuting to your desired city attractions. 

City tours
If you don’t have the time then city tours with English speaking guides are fun. The Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, the Vatican tour of museums and Sistine Chapel are all exciting. Better than that, and only if you have a bit more time in hand is the hop in hop out buses in Florence and London. Equipped with audio guide in many languages they give you a bit more time to explore. If however you have plenty of time and these tours don't appeal to you because you don't feel much of a sense of discovery when you have someone to lead you around a place, to point out the monuments and the interesting buildings and the sights you are like me. I like to wander or cycle. I like to stumble on things. I like to take my time. You're never able to do that with a guide on a day-tour and it will cost you far less!

Data roaming
This is a bad idea. Buy a local SIM card, if they're readily available, or rely on free Wi-Fi in hotels, bars and restaurants if they're not. Spending up big bucks on data roaming just so you can google things or check your Whats App, Facebook and Instagram in far-off places isn't worth it.

Emergency airport purchases
This is never a good idea. It doesn't matter how much you think you need that eye mask or that power adaptor or that bottle of water, you don't want to buy it at the airport. Save your money.

Foreign transaction fee
Before you travel anywhere, it’s a good idea to stop by the local branch of your bank and tell them where you’re headed. You’ll not only learn about foreign transaction fees (and how to avoid them), but also any concerns the bank may have about your using the card in your travel destination. If you plan to use a credit card overseas, make sure to get one that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Bad exchange rate
One of the biggest money-wasting mistakes travellers make is waiting to exchange dollars for foreign currency until they arrive at the airport or at their destination. Airport kiosks, hotel desks, street vendors, and shops make extra money by charging an undesirable rate of exchange. Obtain currency from your bank or a currency exchange at home. If you don’t already have a debit card from your bank, get one so that you can withdraw cash from most foreign ATMs at a favourable exchange rate.

Raking up credit card debt

Remember, your credit card is for emergency. What I mean is if you choose to use your credit card to pay for a vacation (or a souvenir, or a meal, for that matter) and you are not able to pay off within a month or so once you get home you may be looking at a rather uncomfortable debt. Some credit card rates, not to mention penalties and late fees, can mean paying double for your dream trip over time.

Saturday 15 June 2019

AIR TICKETS – WHY DO PRICES VARY SO MUCH?




It was only the other day I was booking a Delhi Kuala Lumpur Kota Bharu flight and the price for a flight leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday and the price shown was Rs. 39,900.00. The next morning when I sat in front of my computer with my credit card to do the booking the new price was Rs. 49,700.00! Almost ten thousand rupees extra after 12 hours.....what is going on? And this happens all the time; in fact airfares are less reliable than the weather in London disrupting the ICC World Cup Cricket matches one after the other.

The model for airline pricing is that, in a perfect world, fares start relatively low and gradually increase. The airline would like to reach a price climax in the last few days before departure. The few remaining seats should be sold at for sky-high fares, on the basis that anyone booking in the final days is really keen to travel and therefore price-insensitive. But alas, this is not a perfect world!

As it turns out, there is a reason why flight prices seemingly change every few minutes and it’s not to benefit our pocketbooks. It’s something called yield management. Yield Management is a variable pricing strategy used to control flight prices. There are three distinct components of yield management: pricing strategyavailability control and control of inventory. And each one of these contributes to the flight price changes that we see when we are trying to find the best plane ticket price. Confused? Don’t worry. You are not the only one, but I’ve simplified things for you below, so all you need to do is remember a few easy tips to get that great flight price when it drops!

Pricing strategy
The pricing strategy of yield management is all about maximizing profits based on customer need. We know that those considered to be leisure fliers (families planning for a vacation, someone booking a ticket to attend their cousins’ wedding next summer) are looking for a good deal, and are very unlikely to pay full price for their ticket. Thus, the customer is charged an amount that’s less than full price in exchange for them booking in advance. Similarly, airlines are aware that business travellers will pay more money to book at the last minute because it’s likely that they are purchasing the ticket out of necessity. Therefore, they are charged full price.

Availability control
The availability control portion of yield management is all about controlling the available product — in this case, airline seats. If airlines are selling 200 seats for a flight, they use availability control to determine how many seats to sell at leisure fare and how many at full price. This determines which seats are available to which crowd. And they use their knowledge of their target audiences (i.e. the fact that leisure travellers book in advance and business travellers book last-minute) to determine when to price these tickets accordingly. So, a Delhi – Mumbai flight will not have many leisure fare seats but a Delhi – Goa flight will.

Control of inventory
Control of inventory is the simple concept of accurately controlling (and utilizing) the availability of the logistical components that is needed to actually run a flight. These components include aircrafts, employees and flights. Control of inventory ensures that these things are maintained and available to be used by the consumers that purchase them. So when suddenly Sahara or Kingfisher or Jet disappears the inventory is strained and the airfares shoot up!
Airlines have a firm sales trend, which simplistically might involve selling 10 per cent every month before departure. If tickets are selling “above trend”, i.e. too fast, the fare goes up; all too often, though, the fares are below trend and the fare goes down. But the closer to departure, the twitchier the airlines become. As you know, once a plane departs with an empty seat, that is potential revenue which has gone forever.

If this seems incredibly confusing to you spend some time to understand it because the good news is that you can totally use this to your advantage! And using it to your advantage does not require expert-level knowledge of pricing controls and strategies. This is because based on these strategies, and data compiled and analyzed by people far more intelligent than me and you, we know the following tips and tricks that can help ensure you get the best flight prices possible:

When to book your ticket? Avoid booking flights on…
Thursdays as this tend to be when markups are posted, likely due to the increased traffic on the weekend. Some experts say that you can see as much as Rs. 700 added to a ticket price on Thursday.
Speaking of the weekend, it’s also best to avoid booking over them as well. The weekends are typically not actively monitored by airline staff but instead are automated. This means that when cheap flight tickets are purchased, the automated software will most likely adjust the remaining tickets to a higher price to compensate for the loss of profit.

Look instead for cheap flight deals on…
Mondays are better for prices because the extra seats that weren’t sold over the weekend are more likely to be discounted.
But if you want even better deals, most airlines post flight discounts between 15 and 25 percent on Monday nights. Meaning if you want to get in on these deals, it’s best to book first thing on Tuesday morning.

A few other tips to get better ticket prices are:

Plan early
Booking flights, hotels and other transports in advance saves big bucks on the travel cost. Flights are cheaper, and hotels usually have advance booking offers. The sooner the better tends to be the best way to ensure you get those cheap international ticket prices. Domestic flights should be booked 6 weeks in advance as booking even before that is not cheaper.

Beginning or end of peak season
Every destination has its own peak season, so plan accordingly. You should be able to find a sweet spot where the weather's still great but you're not yet paying the full peak season cost.  Flights to UK and Canada are invariably cheaper in winter and costlier during summer and spring. A sporting event like Cricket of Football World Cup or Wimbledon or U.S. Open will act as a catalyst to respective airfares.

Choose dates wisely and be flexible
Keep a range of proposed dates while you are planning and check booking websites regularly. You may be surprised how quickly prices can jump or fall.  And, if you can, try to fly midweek. Prices are a lot cheaper. The price difference between flying out on Sunday and Tuesday for both work and vacation destinations may be quite a bit! So board that flight between Monday and Thursday and enjoy the weekend at home or in your destination. 

Compromise on flight time
Only you will know if saving yourself money is worth the hassle of getting up at 2am for a pre-dawn flight. For those willing to do it, the savings can be big. A regular Delhi – Lucknow flight is costing anywhere between Rs. 3,000 to 7,000 but a 02.30 Hrs Air India flight costs Rs.1,800 only!

Consider indirect flights
Flights with one or more connections can sometimes offer a saving. Just like that 2am alarm call, you'll have to decide if the extra travelling time is worth the cash saving.   Once while travelling from Manchester to Athens and back we found the easy Jet flights very costly Rs. 29,800 but when we looked for flights to and from other locations in Greece we found the same easyJet had a flight to and from Thessaloniki for Rs. 17,400. The newly upgraded rail link means Greece’s second city is only four hours from the capital – and a worthwhile location in its own right if you can arrange to spend some time there!

Check flight inclusions
Make sure you're seeing the whole cost of the journey - taxes, luggage and any other add-ons - when you're planning. The ticket is often not the only cost... and sometimes not even the most expensive. Compare carriers and make sure you take all the costs into consideration before you book.  

Subscribe
Many airlines, travel operators and hotel chains offer special packages and deals for their subscribers. Check their websites and subscribe. If you can face going through the endless emails, you may find some great offers in there.  Some airlines offer seasonal sales for seat tickets or flash seat sales and these are really throwaway prices!

Know your baggage specifications
Avoid last minute baggage charges by checking your baggage weights and measurements in advance. With airlines increasingly strict about restrictions and keen to charge you extras, this is an easy way to make sure you don't incur unwanted fees.  30 Kg in international flights and 15 Kg in domestic flights are permissible in full fare airlines and for budget carriers you must know the limits specifically.

Travel at night
If you can sleep anywhere, this is a simple method to save on the cost of a night's accommodation. 

Carry your ID cards
If you are a student or a senior citizen, you might get special prices or even free tickets for certain activities. Always carry your ID cards to take advantage of these

Beware of trackers!
Airline websites track your cookies, that means that they know when you’re looking and how often. This allows them to manipulate the prices you see and avoid offering you lower prices simply because they know you’re on the hunt for tickets.
When you visit a website, you are of course observable by the site itself, but you are also observable by third-party trackers that the site embeds in its code. You might be surprised to learn that the airlines and travel websites include many of these third-party trackers. They do so for a variety of reasons, like for advertising, analytics, and social media. Each third-party tracker exposes some of your personal information to the company behind it. With so much data from so many websites, these widespread trackers (and the companies behind them) can develop extensive individual profiles, which can include browsing, location, search, and purchase history. Then, these profiles can be used for anything, including following you around the web with creepy advertising or hiking the price of the air ticket you are hunting for! 


The solution? Search on Skyscanner. This isn’t your average shameless plug, the Skyscanner app along with the website is specifically built with that problem in mind. So when you search you’re actually finding the lowest prices, not the lowest price the airline wants to give you because they know you’ve searched “flight to Madrid” 21 times in the last three weeks.

Friday 7 June 2019

MISSED YOUR FLIGHT! NOW WHAT TO DO?




Have you ever missed a flight? If not then there are just two options – either you have not travelled enough or you are obsessive compulsive about everything in life. Fly often enough and chances are you're going to miss your flight one day. And the reason of your unfortunate predicament may not be in your hands.
Airlines do not and should not care about why you were late. What airlines do care about is on-time performance. Getting that aircraft away on time means they are reaching their immediate destination in time and subsequent flight schedules don't get messed up and everyone's happy.
Why do people miss flights?
Now, this is important. Your reason could have some bearing on your airline's response to your plight. But, beware, the check-in staffs have heard every excuse in the book and really, they don't care. But re-booking you on another flight is not out of the question, and a good reason for your late arrival will help your case. The reasons which are most sympathetically accepted are:
1.      A passport that you forgot at home until you were halfway to the airport
2.      A child inadvertently left under the same circumstances
3.      A medical emergency
Some other common reasons of missing flights are:
1.      Confusing AM and PM
2.      Working on the wrong time-zone
3.      Caught up in a traffic jam
4.      Showing up at the wrong airport
5.      Turning up on the wrong day
6.      Not hearing boarding announcement because you were grooving to your noise-cancelling headphones
7.      Silent airports, no announcements made!

How do you manage the crisis?
So now that you have missed the flight, what do you do? Try to understand well in time that your chances of catching the flight are bleak. And instead of approaching the impending disaster, go to the disaster recovery mode! What the circumstances really require is logical problem solving, a frame of mind best achieved when you’re calm and can direct all of your bright brain cells towards fixing the situation.
1.      Don’t panic. Quickly you work through the seven stages of grief. Because the quicker you pass through shock, disbelief, denial, guilt and anger and land on acceptance, the sooner you can begin the ultimate task of rectification, known to science as "pulling the fat from the fire".
2.      Inform the Airlines Customer Service.
(a)    If you're en route to the airport, as soon as you realize you're not going to make your flight, contact your airline's customer service. If you call before the gate closes on your flight, there is a much higher chance that you will be able to switch to another flight without too much fuss. Be nice and briefly explain your circumstances. By contacting them before your plane has left, there’s a decent probability that you’ll be able to change to a different flight that day. Beware, however, that change fees are steep. Politely ask if the fee can be waived or reduced, as many gate agents do have that power. 
(b)   If you're at the airport, checked in and passed through security and still miss your flight, that's more serious. Since you're in a secure, restricted area you will have to exit that zone. Find an airport information desk or, failing that, your airline's ground staff. If you have checked in baggage, that will have been offloaded and you'll need to reclaim it.
(c)    If you've passed through immigration you have officially exited the country. Since you're now seeking to re-enter, you're going to have to pass through immigration all over again. Now if you have a single entry visa, this will need a bit of persuasion and pleading.
3.      Time for a reality check…..are you really doomed? This is the time to nicely ask the ground staff for your options as well as to browse the net on your phone and look for even more options.
(a)    If you are an elite level flyer (Privilege Card / Gold Card) with the airline in question mention that fact, because any small detail you can use to tilt the hand of fate in your favor is going to count.
(b)   Your full fare ticket will be respected a lot more than your budget fare one. The higher the price you paid for your airline ticket, the more likely it is the airline will cut you some slack. With low-cost airlines, there is little to no likelihood of you being able to transfer your ticket. By all means, ask, just don’t be alarmed when they laugh out loud at your request.
(c)    It also depends on who you bought the ticket from. If it was the airline you have a better chance of a favourable outcome than if it was purchased from an online travel agent.
(d)   Two Hour Rule or the Flat Tire Rule: This is a little-known rule in the airline industry of US Airways and Southwest as well as several other airlines, but it isn’t publicized. What it says is if there are circumstances beyond your control, like a huge accident on the highway en route to the airport, you may get a little extra help. The two-hour rule states that if a passenger arrives within two hours of their missed flight, the airline employee can put you on the next flight with the same airline on standby at no charge. If you miss the last flight of the day, you’ll be standby on the first flight the next day.

4.      Find a Wi-Fi. Roaming data in a foreign country is invariably expensive. Switch to the Airport Wi-Fi, even if it is slightly faster than a snail and now look for all your options in the net.  It can also be time-consuming dashing from airline counter to counter seeking quotes. That’s when the Internet proves to be your true travel emergency friend.
5.      See it as an opportunity - When you suddenly find yourself in a country with no flight-out, it can induce panic, but the reality is that you suddenly have more options than you did when you thought you were going to catch your scheduled flight. Booking a new flight, a train, car-hire, a hotel, an adventure somewhere completely unrelated sprawl out before you. Once we were were flying from Kathmandu to Lhasa and the flight could not land and took us straight to Chengdu in China. Our Sichuan Airlines first available flight to Lhasa was at 6 PM the next day so we made the best use of the detour and saw the world famous Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding!
6.      Search for new flight or route or hotel – While leaving the same day may be costly, you may come across a budget ticket for a flight leaving at the middle of the night or the next day. While cancelling out the option of a higher priced ticket of that day, do not forget to add the cost of the hotel room if you are leaving the next day!
7.      Travel Insurance – While no travel insurance company pays for tardiness and stupidity, if you missed your flight due to circumstances beyond your control – traffic, tempest, a tree fell over your driveway – a travel insurer might come to your aid if your airline will not. Financial compensation will happen only some time after they have verified your reason. In the meantime, it's up to you to negotiate a solution at least possible cost to them.
8.      Connecting flight - If you don't make your first flight, it's standard airline practice that any connecting flights you have on the same booking are also cancelled. In that case you also need to notify the airline operating the connecting flight that you're not on board. However, if you are still making it in time for your connecting flight you must inform the airlines. If you’re coming in from another flight, even if it is from another airline, most of the time the airline will take care of booking you through to your final destination. If you have missed your connection, take heart that you will likely be placed on the next available flight on standby. If you’re in this situation, call ahead to the airline to be sure you can pick up your bags. They will arrive before you, so simply letting the baggage claim agent know will help expedite the process.
9.      Taking the flight – do everything early, reach the airport well in time, print your own boarding pass from the kiosk, check in your baggage early and give instructions for the connecting flight. Go straight to your gate, seat in direct view of the departure screens, stay awake and don’t miss the boarding call.
10.  Relax! Mistakes happen; do not let one error cloud the rest of your day. What is done is done. Do not to beat yourself up about missing a flight. It happens to even the most punctual, seasoned traveler. Going with the flow, being flexible and being kind even when you’re stressed out is part of travel and part of life. Take a deep breath and relax. Appreciate the fact that you have managed the crisis admirably!