Save Money on Airfare With Bing Travel'sIf there is a better way to save money on airfare than with the Farecast Technology feature of Bing Travel, then I would love to know about it. No longer are you “flying blind” when it comes to trying to determine the best time to buy an airplane ticket with eye towards saving money.

We know that airlines have to tweak prices as flight dates approach, in an effort to minimize the amount of empty seats for each and every flight. But how can a cost-conscious consumer translate this dilemma for the airline into travel savings for himself? Before the Internet the only indication one had as to how full a flight might be was having a travel agent telling you in very general terms how full a flight was when you were making your reservations. It would have been foolhardy to postpone your ticket purchase because you anticipated a price drop based on this very rough information. You might have found yourself without tickets, and regardless, there could never be a guarantee of a fare reduction.

There are no guarantees with the Farecast portion of Bing Travel either, but now at least you have a way to quantify the likelihood of ticket price changes, up and down, between now and flight time, based on years of flight pricing data– we are talking millions of data points–on US domestic flights and many international flights as well.

For given route and date, the Farecast functionality will recommend that you either purchase your ticket immediately because of the likelihood of a price increase between now and flight time, or wait to buy because fares for the route are likely to drop. The assessment is described as an actual percentage likelihood of a price rise or reduction, and also a prediction as to the amount by which the fair will increase or decrease. The amounts you stand to save are not trivial either. I have seen predictions of 30% or more in savings to be had, simply by waiting a week or two. Price predictions are augmented by a graph of price fluctuations over the last 50 days. Even if you decide to purchase immediately, you will do so with confidence that you have made an informed decision.

If this Farecast feature of Bing Travel is not a game changer, it at least enhances the decision-making power of the consumer. Even if the savings are incremental, saving even $20 or $30 by doing a search that is no more complex than one does on Expedia or one of the other large online ticketing sites, makes Bing Travel a way to save money on airfare effortlessly.

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