The airline industry is going through a severe crisis with fuel costs going to record high's and flight schedules being drastically reduced. This in turn is leading to sky rocket prices.

Most airlines over the world have increased their fares several times with United and US Airways, American, Continental, Delta, and Northwest doing so about 15 times in 2008. Hawaii is one of the places pretty badly hit.

Apart from the general economic slowdown, Aloha Airlines and ATA stopped passenger service and this has hit travel to Hawaii in a big way.

Internationally, the entire airline network is shrinking. Hundreds of dollars are being added to some airfares to make up for the increased fuel prices. The fuel charges on some routes have outdone even the base fare and govt. taxes.

According to travel agents, people looking for the cheapest airfare deals are passé. People are now not only looking for any deal but are even changing their holiday destination in search of a cheap flight. Travelers are willing to travel to warmer destinations if they can save some bucks on a cheap flight.

But there are some strategies you could follow to save some money on cheap flights. These are:

→ Use alternative, smaller airports.
This is an important option to consider. It can save 100$ or more.

→ Consider connecting flights.
Flying non-stop is stress free because of lesser chances of losing your luggage but you could save hundreds of dollars by taking a one- stop flight. Those extra dollars you could save at the cost of some extra hours of flying time are worth it in these hard times.

→ Change travel dates.
Travelling on week-ends is more expensive than flying on week days. Cheap airfare can be got by following this rule. Also, to get cheap flights avoid travelling on holidays. This way you avoid the crowds too!

→ Watch the market.
If a new airline joins in services on a particular route and offers cheap airfare, prices on other airlines should fall for that particular route as well.

→ Sign up for e- mail alerts from travel search websites such as http://www.cfares.com.
You could also sign up with airlines that fly a particular route in which your desired travel destination falls and get the cheapest flight.

→ Keep track of all flights that fly to the destination of your choice.
This way you can check fares of all the airlines that fly in as even the biggest travel sites don't include all the airlines that fly to a certain destination. This way you're sure you've got the best flight fare.

→ On certain travel dates, airlines other than even the national carrier can offer cheaper airfare like in the case of Air India which has offered significantly cheaper airfare into Germany than its flagship carrier Lufthansa.

So, even with soaring flight prices, if you keep certain important things in mind as stated above it is possible to get a cheap flight and save those precious dollars on airfare. Of course it takes a bit of research and time but is worth the effort in the end.

About the Author:
Ingrid Zellger recommends http://www.cfares.com to book Cheap Flights and find exclusive travel deals. cFares is a is a multi-faceted, comprehensive travel search engine which queries a number of travel sources and allows you to compare deals and book trips easily.