You can of course, spend hours searching web pages, spend countless dollars on travel memberships, review newspapers and ask friends for their great knowledge about securing the cheapest fares and it's very likely you'll receive several options pertaining to getting the low airfare.

Let's Begin...Airline tickets are a product, a commodity that are for sale and is based on the supply and demand principle. As the demand is high, so too are the airline ticket prices.

Your typical travel agency will have a contract with a wholesaler at established rates. You, the consumer, will pay the going retail rate for the ticket. It's that simple, very much like other products on the marketplace. Is it possible to purchase a ticket directly from the wholesaler? It's very unlikely. Wholesalers deal in bulk; therefore, the sale of 1-ticket is not time nor cost effective for the wholesaler.

There are travel agencies who purchase a number of seats on particular flights and sell them at reduced retail rates. The agencies buy the tickets at a discounted wholesale price because of the bulk buying. Agencies that typically purchase bulk seats are specialized in a particular area. For example, an agency might specialize in Spain; therefore, they'd purchase several
seats in advance on airlines and market them as their specialty. They in-turn can offer fabulous rates.

To find these specialized agencies, check you Sunday Travel Section, Yellow Pages and/or library. Your library may have a means of searching their data base for SIC Codes. In the case of Travel Agencies, the SIC Code is 4724-02. You do need to make sure the agencies are specialized for the area in which you want to travel to get the best possible rate.

Internet Airfares...Some internet sites offer a low airfare are really bucking the system. In reality, they are hooked up with another travel agency, therefore, another mark-up and what you think is a good rate, may not really be. There are some GOOD Internet Sites that offer great savings and we'll explore some of those.

Travelocity is one of the established leaders in securing low airfare off the internet. With little overhead, compared to the typical storefront travel agencies, Travelocity, provides one of the lowest airfares for nearly all destinations.

It's site is easily navigate around and you know what you're getting. Because of Travelocity's purchasing power, they are able to negotiate good contract rates and pass the savings on to you.

Orbitz is another great contender when looking for the low airfare. Five airlines started Orbitz; American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United. They have the capability of offering their seats at discounted rates. They have over 450 airlines to search from in their database, one of the
largest.

Bestfares.com is a travel member site. You don't have to be a member to view the various promotions; however, if you
want to take advantage of any promotion, membership is required.

With Bestfares member-based site there are some Hidden Costs, so BEWARE. This is what we are not happy about with
Bestfares.

Bestfares will reveal some great travel opportunities; however, they are typically very limited on travel dates, seats and other restrictions. Also, they have higher than average booking fees. We've found that what looks like a good deal upfront doesn't look so good once everything is out on the board...it may not be the low airfare as you think.

Craig Dahl - Senior Editor

Craig Dahl, the professional travel/tour operator reveal the insights so you can get low airfare.