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Sunday 28 April 2019
Travel Save big on your next flight with these insider tips Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE
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ravel plans can quickly become expensive, making budget vacations extremely desirable. But such trips aren’t possible if you pay too much for airfare. And unless you know where to look, finding cheap flights can be a huge hassle. “For the airlines, it’s about getting you to pay the most you’re willing to pay, which is the opposite of what the consumer wants,” Joe Brancatelli, publisher of the travel website JoeSentMe.com said. On a single flight, he adds, there can be more than a dozen pricing categories. “On a 150-seat plane, there could be 50 different prices,” he says. Brancatelli adds that each of those passengers may be paying for a different array of a la carte add-ons such as priority boarding or baggage fees. “The key thing to know about airline prices,” he says, “is that the fare is where you start, not where you finish.” With summer right around the corner, U.S. News spoke to Brancatelli and other travel industry experts about the best ways to stretch your travel budget. Here are seven insider secrets to booking cheap flights: Book seven weeks in advance Passengers pay the lowest price – nearly 10 percent below the average fare if they buy 50
days before their flight, according to data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation. The data were compiled by examining 2017 ticket sales from online and corporate travel agencies in the U.S. for the top 500 origin-and-destination markets. But the seven-week rule isn’t a sure-fire strategy for snagging the cheapest fare. “This is just a trend,” explains Chuck Thackston, ARC’s managing director of data science and research. “Airlines will make valuable deals available all the time. But, on average, we see this [50-day] approach works.” Best time to book flights: Tuesdays at 3 p.m. EST If you don’t find the discounts
FG reiterates commitment to first class radio communications for Airspace
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he Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to a safe and efficient airspace reinforced with a first rate radio communications system for the country. Fola Akinkuotu, the managing director/CEO of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency who stated the government’s position, also vowed that all challenges experienced in the area of communications were being tackled with relentless vigour. Akinkuotu was addressing an Air Controllers/Pilot Interactive Session in Lagos with the theme “Enhancing Safety of Flight Operations.” Radio communication is a critical factor in pilots-air traffic controllers and pilot-pilot exchanges during flight operations. The NAMA Boss told the session that Nigeria’s airspace deserves the very best radio communications system, and that government was working to deliver it. Vowing that there was no going back in achieving an efficient ra-
dio communication, he said: “We have made inroads in the area of radio communications but there are challenges. I want to assure my colleagues, the pilots and the controllers that efforts are being made and we are not going to stop. I am not going to stop, so long as I am in NAMA, from trying to deliver an optimally functional radio communications system for our airspace.” Akinkuotu, who has a rare distinction of being a pilot and an aeronautical engineer, explained that it was essential for communication between the pilots and air traffic controllers to be crisp and clear, stressing, “Part of NAMA’s job is communication. We will keep trying; we will not rest until we fix it. We will fix it.” He said although there have been “attestations that they have been some remarkable improvements,” he would not be satisfied until peak efficiency was attained. “For me, good is not good enough,” he said, “why not the best?”
you’re looking for in the early morning, a study by FareCompare.com says the best time to buy airline tickets and shop for travel (domestically) is on Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST. However, George Hobica, travel expert and journalist, argues that the best deals vary frequently, so there’s not one specific day or time of the week to buy. Cheapest days for flights: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday According to a FareCompare. com study, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday for domestic travel. “Flying on these days of the week is almost always the cheapest option in the U.S.,” according to the website. For international travel, weekdays
are usually cheaper than weekends, FareCompare says. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days for domestic travel. Fly out early The cheapest flight is typically the first flight of the morning. “Yes, that means you have to get up at 4 a.m.,” says Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. The next-cheapest flight times are during or after lunch or at the dinner hour. “There’s a general rule of thumb, which is ‘fly hungry,’” Seaney says. That’s because flyers tend to not want to travel at inconvenient or uncomfortable times, he says. Check low-cost airlines individually
Comparison sites like Kayak don’t necessarily do all the work for you. Some low-cost airlines, like Southwest, don’t allow their tickets to be quoted on popular comparison websites, Seaney says. So be sure to check them separately. And do your homework to understand what extra charges, such as carry-on or checked baggage fees, might increase the cost of your ticket. Sign up for free alerts Almost every major online booking site offers airfare alerts that ping you when fare prices fall. Popular digital resources such as Hitlist, The Flight Deal and Secret Flying offer quick alerts on good deals. If you sign up for fare alerts from Kayak or Google Flights, you can specify certain routes and travel dates. Travellers shouldn’t overlook online travel agencies such as Expedia and Priceline. “They sometimes buy seats from the airlines in bulk and sell them for whatever the market will bear,” he says. That can result in savings if they’ve over purchased a particular route. Build a relationship “The question isn’t how much is it to fly from here to there, the question is, ‘Who’s asking?’” Brancatelli says. If you carry the airline’s credit card, you automatically have a leg up on other travellers. Credit cards tied to airlines now offer perks that were once standard, such as free checked bags, priority boarding and seat selection, so they may be worth signing up for if you fly frequently on one airline.
Virgin Atlantic appoints new Commercial Manager for Nigeria …Virgin Atlantic will celebrate eighteen years flying the Lagos-London route in July 2019
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irgin Atlantic has announced the appointment of Justin Bell as the airline’s Commercial Manager for Nigeria. Justin will be responsible for the airline’s daily commercial activity in the region and will commence duties in June 2019. Justin will be familiar to many in Nigeria, having been Virgin Atlantic’s Airport Manager in Lagos for the last six years. Justin boasts an impressive resume in his 29 years at Virgin Atlantic, starting in reservations and working his way up through the organisation. Managing the airline’s biggest Clubhouse in Heathrow, regionally managing Virgin’s northern airports including Manchester and Glasgow, and then establishing superlative levels of operational performance in Lagos, consistently achieving over 90 percent on time performance and ensuring record levels of reliability, currently tracking at 500+ days without a cancellation. The move sees Samuel Lindfield, Virgin Atlantic’s present Coun-
try Manager, return to the United Kingdom. Over the 2.5 years of Lindfield’s tenure, the airline’s commercial performance has grown from strength to strength. From the midst of the currency crisis in 2017, Virgin Atlantic has emerged financially healthier than ever on the route, with record passenger numbers, and a commercial performance trajectory that sets the airline up for continued success. Justin Bell, Commercial Manager, Nigeria for Virgin Atlantic commented, “I am delighted to be taking up this new role for Virgin Atlantic in a region that Virgin Atlantic has served across two decades. We have built an incredibly positive commercial and operational trajectory, which I will look to develop through my time in role. I have lived in Nigeria for the last six years, and I see the immense potential each day, I look forward to working with our partners in Nigeria to harness that potential into a new reality” “I am also delighted to continue working with ALML Nigeria - they
have supported us since day one and continue to offer an amazing service for our customers as we work hard to achieve our ambition to become the most loved travel company, in Nigeria and across the world.” Virgin Atlantic offers daily service between Lagos and London using a mix of Airbus A330-300 and A340-600 aircraft, and has served the route for almost eighteen years, an anniversary it will celebrate in July this year. All aircraft boast Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class, Premium and Economy Light, Classic and Delight offerings. With complimentary food and drink on board, over 300 hours of entertainment and wifi, the LagosLondon service offers a consistent long haul experience for those customers connecting from Lagos seamlessly via London Heathrow to destinations throughout North America across the Virgin Atlantic network including New York and Boston, the leading commercial and educational cities of the US East Coast.