Flying from New York to Dallas? JetBlue ( JBLU ) will make you lay over in Boston. Taking a short ho

Travelers looking to save costs have long sought out the best time to buy airfare, the best way to maximize points, how to find the best credit cards, use the best apps and even make the most of a hotel stay.
But while hidden fees can derail a trip's budget , so too can deceptively cheap rates. Travelers who book on a budget phantasy tour airline may be surprised to find the savings can be marginal -- even nonexistent.
Travelers snapping up a rock-bottom phantasy tour rate in May on Norwegian Air from New York's Kennedy International Airport to Oslo, Norway, thought they were getting a deal. The inaugural international flight of the previously European-only airliner offered rates so low many people on board thought they had caught the airline in a typo.
But it wasn't long into the flight that I and other travelers realized the cut-rate price came with cut-rate service. On the overnight, trans-Atlantic flight, phantasy tour the only water offered was sold in bottles, the only meals and snacks were sold at high prices to those who had ordered in advance (and several passengers who paid were denied meals). And entertainment, blankets phantasy tour and newspapers were merely a dream while enduring a fitful sleep in the incessantly bright cabin.
Compare this experience phantasy tour to that offered by British Airways. Its flights include meals made by professional chefs, one of the highest free-baggage allowances among all carriers, free seat selection, in-seat entertainment and hassle-free check-in -- all standard.
"It used to be 10 years ago the base fare was the base fare," says Jami Counter, senior business director at TripAdvisor . "Airlines have made it really confusing for the customer phantasy tour about all the add-ons and the fees they're going to be charged. And this is deliberate."
Counter says airlines have embraced the concept of branding themselves and their flight offerings, but many of those claims are simply smoke and mirrors, including the $70 upgrade fee on Norwegian Air that failed to deliver.
US Airways is another culprit of the misleading add-on fees, Counter says. "When you're paying extra for a choice seat on US Airways, you might think you're getting something extra, like legroom or premium seating, but you're really not. It's just slightly further up the aisle."
American Airlines phantasy tour also offers seat upgrades for a fee, but according to its website , these seats can contain up to six extra inches of legroom for prices beginning at $8. United Airlines also offers seats near the front of economy class for an extra fee, but doesn't make claims about specific inches of additional legroom.
To help travelers understand just what they're getting phantasy tour on various airlines, TripAdvisor has launched SeatGuru , a site that compares airlines phantasy tour by legroom, in-flight entertainment options, meals and more.
Travelers onboard the discounted Norwegian flight to Oslo could have packed their own meals, brought their own blankets and entertainment and lugged aboard enough bottled water to stay hydrated on the trans-Atlantic flight. Packing light and not being fussy about seat selection would have saved another few extra dollars.
For the occasional flier on a short, domestic flight, such problems may be trivial. Counter, the travel expert, says the breaking point is usually a cross-country or international flight. phantasy tour "If it's a two-hour flight, the amenities and on-board service are much less important than if you're taking an eight-hour or 12-hour overseas flight."
The shortest path between two points may be a straight line, but rarely does that seem to apply to airline routes. You might not be surprised by a layover in Chicago if you're flying from Boston to Seattle, but rarely phantasy tour will you find so obvious a route, especially phantasy tour on discounted and last-minute tickets.
Flying phantasy tour from New York to Dallas? JetBlue ( JBLU ) will make you lay over in Boston. Taking a short hop across the Adriatic Sea from Dubrovnik, phantasy tour Croatia to Venice, Italy on Iberia? Expect to lay over in Barcelona, Spain. That's because most airlines have hubs that they operate many more flights phantasy tour through, which make them cheaper. For example, American Airlines ( AAMRQ ) has its largest hub in Dallas-Fort Worth, while United Continental ( UAL ) now has its largest hub in Houston (United's top hub was Chicago O'Hare before the merger).
A round-trip flight on British Airways from New York City to London on an afternoon in early July can cost approximately $1,500. An evening flight (after 6 p.m., although it varies by airline), phantasy tour however, can cost less than $1,000. And it's not just the transatlantic route. Red-eye flights are traditionally less expensive, not as full, and offer shorter lines at check-in and through security. And after all, time is money.
Travel newsletters like Johnny Jet, websites like Airfare Watchdog, or airline-specific social media feeds often provide flash and last-minute deals. Some sites, like Kayak, will automatically prompt you to set up an alert for a particular destination once you've done a couple of searches with the same departure phantasy tour and destination locations.
While many blogs and websites theorize on the best time or day to buy an airfare, there is no magic formula. Only by regularly comparing fares against other dates and airlines will you know when to make your purchase.
A good indicator of how easy an airline is to fly is its policies on changes and cancellations. While the policies are as varied as the quality of the in-flight meals, the information phantasy tour is easier to quantify. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics publishes an annual list of fees generated by each airline. In 2011, Delta ( DAL ) charged a whopping $766 million in change and cancellation fees. Alaska phantasy tour Airlines ( ALK ) charged a mere $10 million (And lest you attribute phantasy tour the big difference to the relative sizes of the carriers, Delta only carried nine times as many passengers as Alaska Airlines.)
While the cost of flying may be increasing, airfare deals can always be had with a little patience, persistence, and research. Whether you're traveling alone, with colleagues, or with your family, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your flights this summer. Maybe even enough for another trip.
And the bottom line is that if there is an alternative to flying, take it. If people stop flying the airlines will have to get down off their towers and start treating customers like they matter again.