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Most pilots make atleast 3 or 4 trips a day before heading back to their layover hotel.  Their day typically starts extremely early (before sunrise) and ends late into the evening (post sunset).  This means that the food offerings a pilot sees on a typical day is extremely limited and quite unhealthy.

Picture this: You wake up in an airport hotel at around 5 A.M. and have to be downstairs to catch the crew shuttle to the airport at 6 A.M.  That leaves an hour to wake up, shower, get dressed, and foarge for food.  At most, this means some fruit, a bagel, maybe a box of cereal and a cup of coffee, then it is off to the airport.

Once at the airport it is more coffee and right onto the aircraft.

At this point, at best, a meager breakfast consisting mostly of caffeine to prepare for the day.

Next comes lunch.  Obviously a pilot can't leave the airport in search of something to eat.  This means airport food.  While most will agree airport food is better than airline food, that by no means makes it healthy.  This is a neverending repetition of Burger Kings, Chick-fil-a's, Panda Express, and A&W's.  Whenever I think about it a picture of Tom Hanks' character from the movie "The Terminal" pops into my head where he eats saltines and ketchup for a meal.

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With flights running all day and into the night, this means dinner is much of the same.  Getting back to the hotel after a full duty day isn't conducive to a pilot seeking out food outside of the crew hotel or airport.  Also, the lack of a vehicle presents the same problem.

For professionals who have their entire livelyhood hinging on the fact that they need to stay healthy (and believe me, pilots are legally required to get medically certified as fit, and certified often) it is physically and mentally straining to only be able to eat greasy, fatty and heavy fast food - in fact it can threaten their readiness if measures aren't taken to workout outside of the "office".  

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It isn't all bad though.  Pilots who fly long haul can have a diet that benefit from their flight schedules.  Typically layovers on long-haul flights are much longer (24+ hours) and with a full day in their destination city there is time to leave the hotel and explore for more suitable food options.  Public transportation is much better in other countries as well (compared to overnighting in, say, Fargo, North Dakota) which contributes to the ability to foarge for food.

Corporate pilots can benefit as well.  Working at a jet center in college, corporate pilots would often leave the untouched catering with the line workers (me) to enjoy instead of tossing it out.  If you want to eat expensive lobster and filet mignon on a regular basis as a college student go find a job at the nearest jet center.  Corporate pilots are usually given a more healthy boxed lunch from the same caterers that supply the private jets with their caviar and champagne on top of the leftover catering.

Just about all pilots understand that if they live off the poor airport food and fail to exercise that there is the potential to have their medical standing removed which would pull them off the flight line.  This is the sort of motivation that keeps them healthy, but still a necessary evil that comes with the territory of being a pilot.

The air cargo industry is quite obviously different from the passenger airline industry. Beyond both offering services that mostly focus on transportation via air the two industries share little else. Let's get into it.

For passenger airlines, the exchange of services (and in some cases, goods) is pretty much entirely contained within the airport or the aircraft. Passenger airlines offer an airport to airport service where travel and accommodation beyond these gateways is ultimately up to the passenger.

The cargo industry offers a very different service. When I worked for a major international cargo service (full disclosure: DHL is the company I previously worked for so my goal is to approach this from an academic and unbiased narrative), we offered what we called "door-to-door" service. That is, a company employee would pick up a package from a customer's home or warehouse and the package(s) would be delivered to the home or final destination of wherever the customer required. Customers were not required to drive to the airport and check their cargo in with the airline and then have another person at the closest airport that the airline served to the package's final destination waiting to pick it up.

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Cargo carriers also deal with the logistics of offering a "door-to-door" service. That means massive fleets of everything from vans and trucks to aircraft, bicycles, motorcycles, cargo ships, trains, and I've even seen branded segways. It is easily surmised from this point that there is a lot more overhead and operational costs to be able to maintain these kinds of service. To be able to control these extra costs there are some operational differences that vary from the passenger transport business.

First is the aircraft. Cargo aircraft operate entirely different schedules and have an entirely different set of costs than passenger aircraft. The biggest advantage is the regulations that mandate the amount of maintenance required on the aircraft on a regular basis. Now don't think that these cargo aircraft are deathtraps - they just aren't. They are immaculate aircraft. They just don't require some of the more in-depth inspections that passenger aircraft are required to go through. This provides a benefit to the cargo airlines in the form of reduced operating costs.

This also allows many cargo carriers the ability to operate much older aircraft. This is another huge economic benefit. Buying a used MD-11 with tens of thousands of hours on the airframe is worlds cheaper than a brand new 747-400F(reighter). This directly puts the cargo carriers at another economic advantage. With lower costs for the acquisition of these assets cargo carriers can afford, in many cases, to purchase these aircraft outright instead of leasing them. This is just like purchasing a car and paying in full with cash - it just means no monthly payments, no interest payments, no outstanding liabilities in the ledger, and in a pinch assets that they can potentially liquidate to free up some cash. All of these aspects of the industry are utilized, particularly by the American based cargo carriers.

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Cargo carriers almost exclusively operate at night. This provides a multitude of benefits as well. First of all these night operations are essential for their time-sensitive deliveries. The deadline to ship a package is usually in the late afternoon so that people can still drop off packages one their way home from work and still be delivered to the other side of the country before noon the next day. This means mostly having night time operations to move the cargo.

Some cargo airlines deviate from this route though. One way this is done is by contracting out the air portion of cargo movement. Mostly that is done by paying a passenger airline or other carrier to carry cargo for them.You may be surprised to learn that some of the largest cargo carriers (measured by total tonnes carried) are passenger airlines. Delta and Southwest are constantly in the top 10 largest cargo carriers in the world, and it makes sense. Delta operates over 4,000 flights a day and there is cargo on just about every flight where UPS operations only about 1,000. Granted those 1,000 UPS flight are pure cargo and the 4,000 Delta are mostly passengers, they are still comparable.

Another way this is done is by purchasing space on a contract cargo carrier. FedEx does this with one company called Mountain Air Cargo. All of Mountain's aircraft are painted in FedEx logos and fly routes specified by FedEx but have their own non-FedEx call-signs and flight numbers. This is a great way for FedEx to be able to server smaller markets without having to purchase, maintain, and staff the smaller aircraft. This also allows for some cities to receive important and sensitive air cargo that can not be delivered by the large MD-11's or 747's. It is obvious that in some cases passenger and cargo operations are one in the same. The two may travel in different cabins of service but still are essential to quick and on-time delivery.

In some aspects cargo and passenger air carriers are very alike. When it comes to pure cargo carriers though, the air cargo industry leverages important economic benefits to create a very resilient and sustainable industry.

This post was also posted on our friends over at Bangalore Aviation.  Be sure to stop in and check out their aviation postings.

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Apparently this is what a woman found in her checked bag after it came to the curb at the end of her flight.  From what I understand the TSA sometimes manually searches checked bags if there is some sort of discrepancy during their initial x-rays and other checks.  If a manual check takes place then these pre-printed notes are placed in the bag to alert the passenger that their bag was searched.

Evidently an over zealous TSA agent found a very "personal item" in this woman's luggage that they felt warranted a comment.  I think at this point everyone can understand that this isn't a TSA procedure but rather a bad apple among a large group of government employees.

That's where the understanding stops.

If you work in an industry where people are largely unsatisfied with the existence of your job then it is of extreme importance that you act in a manner as professional as possible.  That's because if worse comes to worse you can atleast stand behind the fact that your employees are professional in the way they interact with their customers.

On top of that there seems to be a severe lack of cohesion between the airlines and the TSA.  When the TSA and the airlines should be working together to help improve their overall interaction and reputations with the public, there is a disconnect the width of the Grand Canyon.  

Many of the airlines recognize the fact that before their passengers even board the plane they have been hasseled and are dejected due to their typically negative experience with the TSA.  And because of this, passengers dislike flying even more.  This is a vicious cycle.

I understand the importance and urgency of protecting the skies over the United States and that the jumping off point for that is airport security, but in the world that is air travel where people love to hate on the act of flying commercially (see the headline of this blog) quality customer service and consistent professionalism seems to be lacking.

Again, in an editorial capacity, hearing about this woman's experience with the TSA is frustrating because it is giving people a negative view of air travel and it has absolutely nothing to do with the airline she was flying with or any other commercial air carrier.  The whole point of the post, I suppose, is that I hope readers and travelers alike can notice the difference here; can compartmentalize the fact that this is a TSA issue, not an airline issue.  Yes, they are blanketed by the "air travel" experience that still, admittedly, has ample room for improvement, but these issues are more akin to the way the TSA is mandated by the government and conducts their daily business.

Thanks for tuning in - and don't forget to send me your airline questions!  I am always looking for more "air travel nightmares" so please send away.

Strokes of lightning strike aircraft more than you may think.  This mostly happens at lower altitudes and normally during take-off and landing.  Often it is not possible to tell if the aircraft has taken a direct hit, instead pilots can report a lightning strike based solely on how loud the thunder is and how bright the flash is.  When this does happen, there is not a lot of things that happen.  

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Typically, the aircraft diverts and lands at the nearest safe runway (usually the airport that is being departed to approached).  Electronics do not flip out, pilots do not lose control, fuel does not ignite.  Once on the ground, the aircraft is typically taken out of service and mechanics begin a "lightning check".  This involves many mechanics inspecting the exterior skin of the aircraft for evidence of a strike then begin a tedious inspection of all the aircraft's electronics and hydraulics.  This inspection may result in a blown fuse here or there - one of presumably many fuses that are incorporated into all levels of redundant systems.  Once a thorough inspection is completed the aircraft is then reinstated to service usually 12-24 hours later.

In basic weather theory, pilots are taught how to recognize situations where lightning may be encountered.  The biggest warning flag for lightning are the dangerous thunderheads that tend to develop during the course of a summer day until they release their immense amounts of energy in a very short amount of time.  A bolt of lightning can, and will, strike as far as 20 miles away from these thunderheads - even if that area 20 miles away is under blue skies.

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Another common place to find lightning is in squall lines preceeding a cold front.  In front of a cold front is warm air that is holding mositure.  Behind the front is cooler, more dense air that holds less mositure.  As the cold air overtakes the warm air, the warmer air rises and the colder air replaces the warm air at the surface.  This creates lifting action, and as the warm, moist air rises it cools and condenses.  As it condenses it transforms from a gas to a liquid and precipitation begins.  This is very much like how a glass of ice water sweats on the outside: the cool liquid inside the glass cools the air on the outside of the glass and as that air cools it loses the ability to hold as much moister in a gaseous state and releases it as a liquid.  

When strong fronts of very cold air replaces very warm pockets of air, this process occurs faster and more intensely and produces extremely strong storms.

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Aircraft tires are very different from the large treaded tires your have on your car.  The first and most visible difference is the lack of treads on aircraft tires.  A car enthusiest would call aircraft tires "slicks", meaning there is only two or three small grooves on the surface of the tire.  With car tires, treads are used to move water quickly away from underneath the tire, provide traction on a multitude of surfaces (including unpaved roads and very light off-roading) and provide grip during acceleration power from the wheel.  Aircraft tires have a different need.  The lack of tread is to maximize the amount of vulcanized rubber in direct contact with the tarmac.  This is exactly why NASCAR tires have zero tread, because the more rubber touching the road/runway the more traction there is.  However, with an airplane, treadless tires are not for traction during turning or acceleration - they are for maximum traction during heavy braking.

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Aircraft tires withstand more punishment in a single landing than the tire on a truck does over its entire life.  A Boeing 747 may weigh around 500,000 pounds at landing and is traveling well over 100 mph at landing.  That means each tire has to not only support around 30,000lbs but has to support that weight slamming into the runway at extremely high rates of speed and go from 0 mph to full speed in a fraction of a second.  To help with durability aircraft tires are 7 or 8 ply.  A ply is a layer of woven material that reinforces the vulcanized rubber - think of it like steel rebar inside of concrete structure.  A pilot can always tell when a tire needs to be replace by noticing a ply becoming visible due to heavy braking or a hard landing.

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Aircraft also deal with the dangerous issue of hydroplaning, but because higher rates of velocity are involved there are three types of hydroplaning taught to pilots to increase their awareness of the issue.

The first is dynamic hydroplaning. This is what happens in a car often after driving quickly through a puddle. The water under the tire does not have enough time to move as the tire crosses over it and the wheel actually rides on a sheet of water and loses contact with the pavement. This is a major issue as not only is there a loss of steering but more importantly there is an absolute loss in braking.

The next kind is viscous or contaminate hydroplaning. This is when water on a runway or airport surface mixes with oil, dust, sand, or some other contaminate that creates a dangerous slurry that reduces the effective braking action of the aircraft. This is usually encountered when an aircraft approaches a parking area where resting aircraft may have deposited oil or fluids while on the ground.

The last type of hydroplaning is what is called in the industry as rubber reversion. This is where a stationary tire accelerates so quickly during landing that the rubber actually forms a superheated steam that completely envelopes the tire. It is like dynamic hydroplaning in the way that instead of the aircraft riding on a sheet of water, the tire loses contact with the runway because it is riding on sheets of superheated steam.

In reality, though, these are not issues to be worried about while traveling on today's commercial aircraft. Runways are designed to eliminate standing water and airport personnel check braking effectiveness of every runway multiple times a day. Along with the advances in airport and runway design, aircraft tires have been improved to drastically reduce the potential of hydroplaning occurring. Using vulcanized rubber in tires enables them to withstand extremely intense heat without losing their integrity, and the treads on aircraft tires are used to channel water out from under the aircraft effectively.

So take a look at the tires next time you are waiting to board an aircraft, they really are the shoes of the aircraft.

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"Look mom a girl pilot" seemed an odd statement to me, but through the eyes of the young girl boarding our airplane the youthful first officer with platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes seemed odd to her. She then looked to the left at me, a grey haired man and I was half expecting her to say "look mom an old man", but realized that I was more aligned with her paradigm of what a airline pilot should look like. She simply said “hi”.

© Monika Wisniewska - Fotolia.com

 I stopped what I was doing for a moment reflecting on the significance of this young girl’s statement. This simple intrusion into my routine world and her innocent statement spoke volumes towards the preconceived notions we have about woman in the aviation community. I wanted to say to this young passenger that plenty of woman fly and if she put her mind to it she could also fly.

The only problem is I really had no knowledge to prove my point, other than my personal experiences in teaching woman to fly and flying with woman at the airlines. I then set out to gain the knowledge I needed to be better prepared next time I speak with a young girl or woman about learning to fly and careers available for woman in aviation.

Six Percent Of Pilots are Women

Quick research on the internet led me an organization called Woman In Aviation International. According to their website there are over 600,000 thousand pilots and only six percent are woman. Having flown since the late 80's I had no idea the numbers were so low but that may be due to my unique experiences.

While working full time as a flight instructor I had many female students and was shocked that the numbers were so low but probably because I never really noticed. Upon further reflection I realized that yes the majority of my students were male, the audiences I spoke to at safety meetings where full of men, and the flying club I am in has very few females.

Why Aren't There More Woman Pilots?

I never took the time to reflect on why there are so few female pilots but from years of teaching and flying with woman I have my own theories. First, I think people still have some preconceived notion that men in some way are more predisposed to be better pilots.

© Poulsons Photography - Fotolia.com

I ran into this same attitude when I began in the computer industry in the eighties. I even had a professor that believed woman should not be programming computers because it was a "man's job". As much as it sounds crazy to say this today I think this same attitude may still be prevalent in the aviation industry.

Second, because the number of female pilots is so low there is not a large support network for the growth of woman in aviation. There is one organization that is doing some wonderful work promoting aviation for woman and it is called Woman In Aviation International. For a true ground swell of new female aviators we must promote the message early and often, that woman can fly.

Early in a young girl’s life they should be exposed to an aviation career as a great opportunity. This can be done during career days and through educating career counselors and teachers in schools throughout the country. The message must also be promoted often and be a consistent part of their career options throughout a girl’s early life. An aviation career should also be promoted amongst those looking to change careers and be a larger part of any continuing education and career counseling.

Third, the success of any pilot is dependent upon the support and education given by our aviation educators and flight instructors. The instructors internal attitude and preconceived notions towards a student can dramatically affect the success of the student.

One of the problems I have found in the past is the attitudes towards females trying to fly is much different than towards males pursuing a pilots certificate. I have seen some of my colleagues change the way they teach females because they feel a female is going to have such a tough future trying to break into a male dominated field. Some instructors have been as extreme as saying they feel woman shouldn't fly. These are attitudes the instructor himself must change although there is not much we can do about this except suggest woman steer clear of such instructors.

In my experience these same instructors who had these attitudes were complaining they did not have enough students. They do a disservice to themselves and the industry by promoting such an attitude towards woman in the aviation community. My advice to male flight instructors teaching woman to fly is simple; do a good job teaching all your students how to fly whether they are male or female. There are no changes you need to make in your teaching methods but there might be an attitude change in your view towards female pilots.

Why We Need More Female Pilots

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Prior to flying I was a majority shareholder in an international seafood company. Imagine if we only marketed to men and sold little or no seafood to women. Well that is exactly what the aviation community has done with promoting their product of aviation towards potential pilots. I feel we have only successfully reached half the potential number of pilots. Imagine how strong the industry would be if we had an equal number of woman involved in aviation as we had men!

We are not doing a good job of attracting female pilots which is reflected in the dismal number of woman aviators. To have a true resurgence in the aviation and flying community all of our organizations must embrace the critical role woman have played in aviation and the critical role they will play in our future.

How To Get More Woman To Fly

The future of our aviation community and the growth of the pilot population depends on our promoting flying as an avocation, career, or business tool towards the large untapped population of potential female pilots. To do this we must not look to fellow woman pilots to be ambassadors to future woman aviators, but we must rely upon the recruitment of male advocates promoting woman to join the ranks of pilots and aviation professionals.

Let me speak to male pilots for a moment. To truly become a man advocating woman in aviation you must first internalize the important role women serve in our aviation community and be willing to promote flying to people of all walks of life. I think more men should join the ranks of organizations such as Women In Aviation. Ultimately, I would like to see more male advocates within Woman In Aviation promoting the future of our aviation community through the recruitment of more female aviators. If one of these organizations had a male advocacy wing I would be the first to join.

As I think of the important aviators I have know in my life one of my former employers stands out. She owned one of the oldest flight schools in the state of Texas and had taught many military pilots how to fly during WWII. This was a period where a woman’s role in the military was relegated to very few jobs as was the same in many industries throughout the United States.

During slow times my boss would take me into her office and tell me stories of the War and how she grew her business. One story really stuck out in my mind. One day I asked her what it was like to be a woman flight instructor during World War II. She told me how some of the pilots would resent her teaching them but a good instructor is a good instructor and if the cadets wanted to learn how to land well they would come to her for instruction.

Years later my former boss Maybell Fletcher was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall Of Fame after many decades of running a successful flight school and being an advocate of aerospace education in the state of Texas. Her words still resonate in my mind to this day “a good instructor is a good instructor”.

I have reused Maybell’s words in many forms but if you or someone you know wants to learn how to fly remember that a good pilot is a good pilot and it does not matter if they are male or female. The aviation world is open to all and if you or someone you know is a female interested in flying I will be your biggest advocate and would be excited to see you join our special community of fliers.

Aviation is a world where woman pilots are finally beginning to be woven into the fabric of our flying community thus making it much stronger. I encourage all pilots to become advocates for Woman In Aviation. One of the ways you can do this is by joining those organizations that promote Woman pilots such as Woman In Aviation. As a matter of fact I am going to join today.

For More Information:

Woman In Aviation International Website

- Jesse

Obviously my full time job isn't to blog.  I wish I could make a full time living blogging about the airlines and bringing new insight and understanding to a broad audience about this wonderful industry.  Alas, blogging is not my full time profession.  So it goes without saying that there are some costs involved in running this blog.  I'm all about honesty here so sure, if no one were to donate the blog wouldn't go away and I would still be able to run it, but I'm hoping otherwise.

So if you can, please donate - it would go a long way to help me run and maintain this blog.  The donate button is over there on the right, a cool photo of one of my favorite airlines is below.  

Lastly, thank you to all of my fans who have e-mailed me, tweeted at me, liked my fan page, or recommended me to other readers.  You guys are awesome, so keep on rockin'.

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After arriving into CMH a few minutes early, I shot down to the baggage claim where I snagged by bag and was quickly picked up to go enjoy the next two nights.

The flight back was actually very uneventful.  This time we flew together, and our flight departed CMH about ten minutes early and arrived about fifteen minutes early.  Another checked bag (this time by choice to bring home a few souvineers from Columbus) meant a short stop at the baggage carousel and our trip was over.

In the end, all three of my flights on AirTran this weekend arrived early.  The flight crews were quite nice and the aircraft were clean.  

Final verdict:  Again, I used to work for AirTran, but as a full paying passenger and trying to be subjective as possible, this is a low cost carrier (LCC) that has it right.  Our fares were extremely reasonable, all flights were on-time, if not early, and the service was exceptional.

Current Flight

10:02 PM: My flight pushed back on-time, but as we were in the middle of a big departure bank, there was a short 20 minute wait for take off.  So far we are showing an on-time arrival into CMH.  I've snapped a few more photos that I'll try to get on the blog before my laptop runs out of power.  See you on the ground!

A wild fire spotted from the air.

Aircraft lining up for landing.

7:19 PM:  We are in the air and things are going swimmingly so far.  I snagged a window seat (what else?) and looks like we should have an ontime arrival.  I'm going to link my current flight at the top of this post, feel free to follow.

I did arrive at the airport a little bit later than I would to have liked, but that was due to the Miami traffic I ran into right after leaving the office.  The security checkpoint was very short, and just about everyone had already boarded the aircraft.  If I could have left work earlier, I would have, but alas, all of the overhead bins were full and the flight crew informed me that I had to check my bag all the way through to CMH.  A minor setback, but it could have been avoided had I been able to be more punctual.

Other than that, I am hoping I have some time in ATL to take in the sights and grab a bite to eat as I won't be landing in CMH until about 11PM.  Here's some photos I managed to snap right before take-off:

(Having trouble uploading photos to the blog so I'll add them as I can)

A little bit of inflight trivia: Ever wonder why peanuts and pretzels are the snack of choice served by airlines?  Its because crunchy foods actually calm people down and relax their nerves while flying.

5:02 PM: Work is done and I'm on my way to the airport.  Flights are showing ontime, but the weather looks quite rainy.  Stick around.

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7:33 AM:  Good morning! First, I want to get some blog ethics and formalities out of the way.  I am a revenue passenger (meaning I paid for this flight with my own money) flying on AirTran Airways later this evening.  I've spoken with the Atlanta airport earlier this week to see if they had any fun airport facts they could supply for today's adventure and hopefully they will make an appearance later on.

So.  Later today I will be heading to the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to board AirTran flight 78 to Atlanta, where I will make the transfer to AirTran flight 519 flying from Atlanta (ATL) to Columbus, Ohio (CMH) for a short getaway with my girlfriend for the weekend.  She will actually be flying out of FLL earlier in the day on the nonstop to CMH, but due to work obligations I will be on the 6:52 PM flight from FLL-CMH connecting in ATL and arriving in CMH at 10:52 PM.

I am all checked in and seats have been choosen.  I did have the opportunity to choose premium seating, as well as business class but opted out of that and the early boarding fee.

All flights are on time as of right now, and if anything develops between now and heading to the airport I will be sure to update the blog.  Expect many more updates this evening once I leave for the airport, and I will have internet access from both of my flights as well.

Stay tuned!  And send any questions, comments, or ideas my way for tonight's trip to @airtransparency or post in the comments! 

On the most basic level we both have something very close in common: trying to inform travelers and potentially give them a better understanding of how different aspects of the airlines work.

But that is mostly where it ends.

And he isn't the first to come along and try to offer the keys to the kingdom of the airlines.  There are droves of books claiming they have the secret on how air travel can be "beat" or cheaper airfares can be had.  There is just one huge inherent issue with these advice-givers: airlines are dynamic.

They have to be.  In an industry of increasingly more capacity demand, and increasingly diminished margins, the ability to be more dynamic than your competitors is paramount.  Some airlines see the risk of investing large sums of money to fortify their adaptability as too great of a risk and see the resulting stagnation as a necessary evil.

This stagnation is what temporarily allows these "secrets" to save people money.  But as these "scerets" become more mainstream, or as soon as an analyst figures out that there is missed revenue due to, say, the booking habits of a small segement of consumers, it takes a very small portion of their resources and muscles to flex those consumers out of their niche.  

To boil it down to the most basic level, and airline lowers prices only when a certain flight or group of flights aren't booking well or they want to generate interest in certain flights and routes.  This is the exact same thing that happens in the hotel and cruising industry - its the foundation of revenue management.  There isn't any "secret" place you can go and book rock bottom airline prices.  Airlines never put out a fare they are not comfortable with selling.  

So my advice is do not go out and spend your time and money trying to learn the secrets of how to book cheap airfare.  Best case scenario, you may find a loophole that won't be around tomorrow.  People ask me all the time "Where can I find the cheapest airfares?".  I think I surprise a lot of people when I tell them that the airline's direct site or sites like Kayak and Hipmunk work best.

Know of any booking "secrets"?  Post them in the comments!