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Airlines

AirTran                                    (800) 247-8726

America West (Merged With US Airways)      (800) 235-9292

American                                   (800) 433-7300

Continental  (Domestic Travel              (800)525-0280
             
(International Travel)        (800) 231-0856

Delta                                      (800) 241-4141

Midwest Express                            (800) 452-2022

Northwest                                  (800) 225-2525

TWA (Merged With American)                 (800) 433-7300

United                                     (800) 241-6522

US Airways & Metro Jet                     (800) 428-4322

All Other Airlines (Toll-Free #s)

Airline Websites
Links you to the home page of almost every airline that flies.  This sight is very helpful when checking out weekly travel bargains.  You can also choose a country and see which airlines fly to it.  

Air Canada
Provides e-mail notification of deals and you can purchase tickets online.

Alaska Air
May or may not provide an e-mail list of its fare deals, but it does list fares on its web site.  You can also purchase tickets online.

American
Offers the same services as Air Canada's web site.

Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines provides fare listings on its web site and you can also buy tickets online.

US Airways
US Airways has both e-mail notification and fares listed on its web site. You can also purchase tickets online. 

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Buying Tickets You Can Transfer Or Resell

Where To Buy Transferable Airline Tickets (www.fairair.com)
Buy a ticket at this website and if you miss your flight, you can transfer the ticket to someone else or resell it. When you're  reselling, you set the price. If no one bites, you get full credit on the ticket.  The rub: You pay an extra $10 fee per ticket, plus at least 6 percent of the ticket price if you sell or transfer it. Currently, only four airlines have signed on: Northwest, America West, Midway, and National. 
 

Fare Bargains (Travel Web Sites)
Check out the websites below. If you get a good deal, go directly to the airline that's offering it as they often will have the same deal minus the $20 service charge. (While on the airline's website, try searching by date and by flight #). See also what it costs when you leave a day later or a day earlier, as prices can vary dramatically.

Kayak.com
Easily search over 100 sites for cheap airfare, discount hotels, and car rentals.

BNM.com
Car Rentals and rental cars from BreezeNet.com. Find the discount car rental of your choice with one-stop shopping on a variety of rental car deals. We make it easy to search by rental car discounts, car rental company, or search by location (for example, Orlando Car Rentals, Los Angeles Car Rentals, Phoenix Car Rentals, and other national car rental and international rental car deals).

Tripstalker.com
Grabs the best online travel deals while you do other things. Alerts you by email or text message once a flight, hotel or rental car matching your search criteria turns up.

http://www.bookingbuddy.com/
Use their "booking buddy" search engine for the cheapest flights by Orbits, Expedia, Travelocity and more. Also tells you seat width and other good info.

http://www.orbitz.com/
Claims to have the best fares from five major airlines. Big brew ha ha over their conspiracy to drive the other travel websites out of business.

www.travelocity.com
Solid good travel web site for getting the cheapest airfares. 

Best Fares Magazine
While some areas are open only to subscribers, visitors can browse the hidden travel bargains that even your travel agent may not know about.

www.expedia.com
Unlike other sites, allows you to get round-trip price quotes before you choose your departure and return times. Also let's you control each leg of your journey,-if you want you can even choose different airlines for your to and return flights.

www.hotwire.com
They really do offer the cheapest flights but you won't know the flight times until after you buy. Tell the service where and when you wish to travel, and you're offered a set fare with an hour to respond. (Use this time to comparison shop at other websites). 

www.priceline.com

Lets fliers bid for what they want to pay for a particular flight.  Your offer will be accepted or rejected within an hour.  All offers must include a credit card number and IF YOUR BID IS ACCEPTED YOU ARE BOOKED WITH A NON-REFUNDABLE TICKET. A major drawback is that you can't pick the carrier (it will be a major U.S. or international airline) or time you wish to fly (anytime from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.). This site works best when you want to fly soon and face only the highest priced tickets, i.e.  the usual 21-day-advance-purchase fare.  

www.airfare.com (800) 886-4988
Claims 20%-25% savings on every airfare-even the lowest discounted airfares-on a major airline and in selected cities. Some restrictions apply. Mailing you the tickets may cost extra.

Excite Travel Site  allows you to search for the cheapest airfares by simply entering both the departure and the arrival city.  Once you've chosen your destination, a link on that site will fill you in on what you need to know i.e. the culture, language, attractions and travel tips.

SmarterLiving 
SmarterLiving consolidates the best Internet offers of 20 different airlines. Get the best of all last minute deals on airfares, car discounts and resort bargains.  Create a customized E-mail newsletter by entering as many departure cities as you'd like to track.  

www.itasoftware.com
Click on "try our beta site" and findthe best prices the airlines have to offer, sorted by carrier, fare or times-then simply call the airline directly and give them the codes on your screen.

www.biztravel.com
Book travel here on American, Continental, US Airways, British Airways, or Air France and get a $100.00 refund if a flight is more than 30 minutes late, $200.00 if it's an hour behind. For flights that arrive more than an hour late or are cancelled for reasons other than mechanical, the site will issue a full refund-even if the ticket was used.

Other bargain sites include:

www.thetrip.com
Punch in your travel information and they will search for the lowest rates for flights, car rentals and hotels.

www.lowestfare.com
Claims they can save you 25% on a major airline.

lastminutetravel.com
can give travelers good deals if they don't mind keeping their plans up in the air.

See Airlines & Their Websites

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Travel-Related Watchdog Agencies

Center For Disability & Elder Law (Cook County)
Free legal advice for those who are permanently disabled or 60 and over. Must also meet income requirements.

Free Probono Help Throughout Chicago & Illinois

D.O.T. Aviation Consumer Protection Division (202) 366-2220
Federal agency for airline service complaints. This agency will not return calls but may refer your complaint to an appropriate airline official. It is suggested that you first try to resolve your complaint with the airline itself.  If you do decide to complain write to: D.O.T, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, Room 4107, Washington DC, 20590.  Your complaint may also be listed in a monthly consumer report.  To receive a free copy of "Fly-Rights" a 60 page book describing your right to airline services, ask for it by name and make sure to leave your name and mailing address. (

Federal Aviation Administration (800) 322-7873
To complain about Airline safety. 

Florida Dept Of Agriculture And Consumer Services 
                                              (904) 488-2221 
Protects consumers from getting swindled by tourist operations in Florida. i.e. travel problems and time-share condo scams.  Before doing business with a company, check first to see if the FDACS has the outfit registered with them. 


Media Groups

Find Your Local Newspaper, Magazine, Radio & TV Stations
Give them a little bad press and you're bargaining power increases tremendously. Select your state, and then click on your county or city for the proper media to report to. (DC Not Included).

Call For Action
 
Links throughout the US to Pro-consumer groups with media connections.

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Trade Associations & Non-Profits

BBB National Complaint Database
Find the business by name, phone number or web address and learn who owns it.  To increase the chance of finding the company just enter a part of the company's name.

File a complaint at the BBB nearest their corporate headquarters and at the BBB nearest where the incident occurred.

Find Your  Chamber Of Commerce (World Wide) 

State Tourism Agencies Or Promotional Pages (All 50 States)

American Hotel & Motel Association


Other Travel Associations & Links

The National Fraud Information Center (800) 876-7060
Logs complaints about telephone and Internet fraud and        relays them to the appropriate state and federal law enforcement agencies. 

The American Society Of Travel Agents (703) 739-2782
Call them or call The Better Business Bureau closest to where the solicitor does business.  The American Society Of Travel Agents may also help settles disputes between you and member-travel agents.

Toll-Free Directory 1-800-555-1212
Use this free directory service to see if your help agency has a toll-free number.

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Travel Matters-Illinois