Getting yourself or your family to a destination by air can be an expensive and time consuming task. You could, like the majority of travelers, use the most popular travel booking websites but I'm sure you are like me, and you want to save as much as you can on your next airline tickets.

I have laid out several methods to finding the best fare to help any traveler save money. Of course it does depend on the destination you travel to, but you can save tremendously on your next trip. Our subscribers know the ins and outs of how I go about buying my tickets but here are a few travel booking tips to get you started.

1.Do your homework. Contrary to what you have heard, travel agents still offer value and can get you good prices on airline tickets. Build a relationship with a local travel agent and even with a ticketing fee, they may be able to save you money. It does pay to compare the agents prices with the online travel websites.

2.Not all online travel websites are the same. Most of the travel sites use the same technology to offer ticket prices, but each market can yield different prices. Compare a few sites before making a purchase.

3.Consider when you buy tickets. Typically two to four weeks before the flight is considered ample time to purchase. Purchasing too early may result in a higher than normal price and buying too close to the date of travel can really cost you a bundle. Also consider that flight costs change thousands of times each day. Checking at different times may yield different results. You have to consider the competitiveness of the different carriers, if one carrier offers a special to a certain market, others may follow. There is a certain time that airlines change prices and a certain time to check those prices. Buying tickets on a weekend is typically higher and the best time to buy is typically on a Tuesday. But here is a little secret you may not know about, if you check fares on a weekend and then go back to the same site on Tuesday, your computer may display the same price. Why? Well the website you checked placed a tracking file on your computer called a cookie, and if you don't erase the cookie first, you could end up paying more for a ticket that should be less. Delete your cookies first before buying tickets.

4. Check with a consolidator. What can a consolidator do for you? A consolidator typically purchases bulk tickets to a certain market from an airline and sells these tickets at a discount to people like you or other travel agents. If you work with the right consolidator, you may find a great deal to your destination that is considerably lower than what you find at retail price. The best way to find consolidator fares is to check with travel ads in major newspapers. Typically if you are flying to a destination, check with a consolidator that specializes in that area of the world.

5.Be creative. Always consider being flexible. Flying mid week and staying over a Saturday typically results in cheaper fares. If you can fly to an alternative airport, you may save considerably on your airline tickets as well. Just keep in mind that there are other factors to consider as well such as a rental car and gas.

6.Know your market. Each market is served by a number of competitors. Knowing who flies to each city from other cities is important. It will help you determine the best fare using the best route.

7.Of course if you want to find the latest specials, take advantage of Skoovy.com. You can read the latest travel and airfare deals which are updated daily by users just like you.