Travel Tips

Save Money With Off-Peak Travel

Locations in this article:  Fort Lauderdale, FL Miami, FL

Just when you thought the airlines couldn’t squeeze one more fee out of us, guess what? They did it again.

It all started just before the holidays, when the airlines decided to charge an additional $20 for travel on specific dates.

That fee was levied on peak travel dates, like the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Christmas.

But guess what? Once the airlines matched each other on that extra charge, some decided to tack on even more peak travel fees through the spring!

The biggest whopper was when airlines like Delta and Northwest decided to charge $50 to fly out of Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach on February 8.

Why? It’s the Monday after the Super Bowl!

Other peak travel dates where you can expect to see higher fares are Presidents Day weekend. Not only is it a three-day weekend, but it falls over Valentine’s Day.

So airlines are charging as much as $20 extra to fly on Friday, February 12 and Monday, February 15.

Expect to see higher fares during spring break in March, and then again in the summer season. US Airways is taking a different approach.

This airline is going to charge an additional 5 percent fee to ALL flights after May 8, 2010. It’s insurance in case fuel prices go up in the summer.

As a traveler, here’s how you fight back: show the airlines that their schemes don’t always pay off, and hit the skies on off-peak dates to avoid those fees.

Learn more in our Budget Travel category.

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