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Airlines are a strange breed when it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday deals. They want in on the offers, of course, but they have been stingy in not announcing what their sales are ahead of time.
Maybe that's just part of the allure, but we figured it would be helpful to drop a few tips on you in case you want to give your loved one(s) a trip for the holidays.
Note that of the two days, Cyber Monday is often the better deal for airlines. According to a story in the Miami Herald, "Last year Cyber Monday triggered a fourfold increase in worldwide flight bookings," according to research by Sojern, a data-marketing company that expects November bookings to skyrocket again this year.
1) CHECK THE WEBSITES - Airlines love to put their deals up on their own websites, so this is a logical first step. Alaska Airlines' website is advertising a deal right now with flights starting at $59. Starting Sunday, Nov. 29, and continuing into Cyber Monday, Fiji Airways is offering up to 40 percent off round-trip flights to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. Here are the websites for most of the major airlines:
American - www.aa.com
Air France - www.airfrance.com
Air Canada - www.aircanada.com
Alitalia - www.alitalia.com
Alaska Airlines - www.alaska-air.com
British Airways - www.britishairways.com
Delta - www.delta.com
Emirates - www.emirates.com
Frontier - www.flyfrontier.com
JetBlue - www.jetblue.com
Lufthansa - www.lufthansa.com
Qantas - www.qantas.com
Southwest - www.southwest.com
Spirit - www.spirit.com
United - www.united.com
Virgin America - www.virginamerica.com
Virgin Atlantic - www.virgin-atlantic.com
2) EMAIL ALERTS - In some instances, airlines reward their customers - especially their frequent fliers - with an email alert on sales and deals even before they hit the website. Be sure to sign up for both alerts and frequent flier status, even if you've never flown on a respective airline and have no intention to do so. You never know what deals might crop up that will change your mind.
3) SOCIAL MEDIA - Every airline has a presence on Twitter and Facebook - many also on YouTube and Instagram - and the links to their social media sites should be found on their respective website homepages. What do you get out of this? Well, let's put it this way. It's another venue where airlines like to break announcements and deals, and, in fact, American Airlines literally posted this while we were writing this story:
4) THIRD PARTY WEBSITES - Third-party websites and apps, as well as online travel agencies, are also superb spots to find deals. Download the app from www.hopper.com on your iPhone or Android smartphone and receive alerts on what they call airline 'flash sales.' Also check the traditional sites such as www.expedia.com and www.kayak.com for deals, and follow sites and social media accounts for www.Airfarewatchdog.com for sales.
Not everyone in the travel industry is so close-to-the-vest with holiday deals. Click here to see our comprehensive list of Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts.
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