As airline prices continue to rise, a Colorado travel agent shares ways to save money when booking your next trip

Due to the ongoing war in Iran, airline prices are falling due to the rising cost of jet fuel. Your local retailer shares ways to save money when booking your next trip or summer vacation.

Nicole Zillman is the owner of Zillman Weddings and Travel. His message is to book your next trip soon, and don’t wait. He believes that airline prices will continue to rise because the demand to fly is still high.

Between war in Iran, OF the resultsand flights are delayed and canceled, Zillman said there is a lot of uncertainty in flying and it creates a perfect storm for increased flight.

A recent analysis of US airline tickets by Duetsche Bank found that the average domestic flight in late March rose between 15% and 124%.

Zillman also said there are fuel surcharges on each ticket that typically run about $2.50. Lately, he’s seen fuel costs go up to $50 for some flights. He said he’s also seen coast-to-coast flights double or nearly triple, with some flights that used to cost $160 now costing about $500.

First, he recommends getting travel insurance. If you have purchased insurance, make sure it includes “cancellation for any reason,” because it may not cover what happens in the Middle East. Upgrade to higher level insurance if needed. You can call your insurance provider or book two insurance plans.

“What a lot of people don’t realize now is the travel insurance policy they had before may not cover some of the things that are happening now, especially with the war in the Middle East, a lot of unexpected things that the insurance would have covered are now labeled as foreseeable, so you can foresee it, and then the insurance won’t cover it. reason.’ It’s the most powerful insurance you can get,” said Zillman.

Check the flights as soon as possible. The sweet spot for domestic flights used to be one to three months out, but now it’s three months out. For flights outside the US, it’s best to book at least three to six months in advance.

“Some things you can do is to plan to fly in the middle of the week. Wednesday is usually the cheapest day of the week to fly. And then if you want to book a flight, try to book it during the week again. So, Tuesday and Wednesday, they are usually cheaper than even moving your flight on Saturday,” said Zillman.

He also recommends using Google’s flight tracker to track flight prices.

“Use some free tools, like Google Flight tracker, which, if you have a Google or Gmail account, you can just search for a flight and put the tracker there. When the price goes up and down, they’ll shoot you an email saying, ‘hey, the price is going up and up,’ or ‘hey, the price just went down. Write it now.’ It’s the easiest way, and it’s a free tool,” said Zillman.

He also recommends packing lights and trying to pack everything in the car that you can move. Because many flights are delayed or canceled, consider taking a long-haul or overnight flight to ensure you get to your destination.

“When planning your trip, plan to spend two to three hours, in order to be safe. We are seeing the removal of some routes, so you may have fewer options of flights to choose from if it is between 90 minutes and two hours, although that sounds like a lot, in order to be safe, book a two-hour layover,” said Zillman.

Remember, basic economy fares save you money upfront, but if you have to cancel your flight for any reason, you’re out the money unless you have insurance.

Zillman also recommends taking advantage of every discount available, including military, senior, and first responder discounts.

Also, research your destination, check out reliable local news sources, or get help from a travel agent.