As travelling is becoming more expensive, there are ways which can save you money next time you are looking for a cheap flight ticket to Harare or Bulawayo or wherever you want to go.
It is unfortunate that our national airline, Air Zimbabwe is no longer that reliable and their on board services are no longer that good. But if you make use of the following ideas you will be able to save yourself money and also have an enjoyable journey to Zimbabwe.
1. Always check major travel websites like Expedia or Tomas Cook. They will show you the prices for the major airlines. The important factor is shopping around as many of these websites usually have different promotions at different times of the year.
Always watch out for the booking fees, most websites can charge you more on these booking fees. To get the most out of your money always check directly with the airline you intend to travel with and compare the quote that you get from the travel website. It maybe cheaper to buy direct from the airline.
2. Try also websites which focus only on selling airline tickets (niche websites). They usually show routes and tickets from discount airlines which you may not find on major travel sites.
It doesn't seen like we have these budget flights flying to Zimbabwe, but you may just be able to get yourself a good deal.
3. Travel Agents, for many years we have relied on travel agents when making our travel arrangements. Many of us we are used to travel agents and more often we get a better deal from them.
Travel Agents sometimes are able to buy airline tickets in bulk which enable them to sale at a discount.
The most important thing to get cheap air tickets is to shop around and compare. Always make it a habit to compare offers you get from different sources. Make use of major travel websites and also travel agents and don't forget to compare with what the airline itself is offering.
If you can, always buy your tickets months in advance. This way you will be able to get a cheaper ticket than last minute buys.
Get great Flight deals at thomascook.com
Do you have other ideas of saving money on air travel or how to get cheap flight tickets? Feel free to contribute by posting your comments.
An Air Zimbabwe plane bound for London's Gatwick airport with 91 passengers on board caught fire at Kamuzu International Airport in Malawi. Aviation authorities said Fire fighters doused the Air Zimbabwe plane after it's eight rear tires burst in to flames during an abortive take-off.
Mr Alfred Mtilatila, chief aviation officer at Kamuzu International Airport in Malawi said the incident involved an Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767 which was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. The plane aborted take-off after it stuck two birds which were sucked into it's turbines.
Mr Mtilatila added that nobody was hurt in the accident and all passengers were evacuated safely.
The plane had left Harare with 85 passengers on it's way to London.
As part of improving it's service delivery, Air Zimbabwe is going to introduce Internet booking service by mid-year. The national airline has been introducing different measures meant to improve it's service delivery. Air Zimbabwe has been performing very poorly due to mismanagement and general economic and political problems affecting the country.
Air Zimbabwe is also confident of meeting the 31 May deadline to sell all tickets electronically according to International Air Transport Association's Simplifying the Business project.
The project aims at improving airline's technology, automation and streamlining processes to reduce complexity and cost, whilst making transportation more convenient. E-ticketing was introduced to bring convenience, through e-ticketing travellers buy tickets from the Internet and it replaces the manual system which requires travellers to be physically present when buying their tickets.
Improving services was definitely overdue at Air Zimbabwe, the national airline has become so unreliable. It was no longer guaranteed that you will travel on your booked date. Their record in time keeping is probably the waste in the industry and the services they offer on their planes is also very poor, the seats are not that good for a long haul flight. Hopefully things are getting better at Air Zimbabwe and hopefully it's not just too much talk about nothing by the Air Zimbabwe Chief Executive.
I'm always interested in knowing what you think. Feel free to post your comment.
ZimSun Limited has been awarded the "FIFA Match Approval Status". The award gives the company the right to accomodate tourists during the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. The approved status is in recognition of the Zimbabwe Sun groups high hospitality standards that would see the soccer governing body recomending and advertising Zimbabwe Sun's Hotels to officials and visitors to the 2010 World Cup event.
The World Cup finals to be held in South Africa in 2010 provide an opportunity for business development in various sectors of the Zimbabwe economy. The approval of ZimSun by FIFA is a welcome development to the Hotel industry in Zimbabwe as visitors need re-assurance of their safety and the quality of service in Zimbabwe. This will generate the much needed foreign currency and help in the recovery of the economy.
Elephant Hills hotel, Kingdom Hotel and the Victoria Falls hotel received the award, corporate communications manager Ms Farai Mangwende said. The recognition would enable and help the group to market it's products to new markets as well as other remote parts of the world.
As part of the deal FIFA would, free of charge advertise ZimSun on it's websites to potential visitors to South Africa as the hotel has high quality accomodation and food services.
Zimbabwe has one of the best infrastructure in the region and well coordinated efforts from the government and industry would result in the country making the most of the increased visitors to the region.
There will be an increase in the number of tourists coming to the region prior to, during and after the World Cup. Different industries will benefit from the indirect spin offs from the staging of the event in the region.
General economic benefits will include, increased sales as a direct result of the World Cup especially in restaurants, hotels and other retailers.
The World Cup event also offers the country an opportunity to improve it's image. There has been a lot of negative publicity about the country, good preparation and coordination of efforts can help restore the country's image and help bring tourists back to the country.
The beautiful side of Zimbabwe. Our country is always in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. However besides all the problems in the country, at least there are still some beautiful things in the country. Zimbabwe has got one of the most beautiful wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls, is one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world. It is located along the course of the Zambezi river between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a huge waterfall approximately twice as wide as and twice as deep as the Niagara Falls. The local people call it, "Mosi-oa-Tunya", the smoke that thunders.
The Victoria Falls is a wonderful tourist attraction. It is popular for white water rafting, guided walking safaris, bunji jumping, wild life viewing, sport fishing and many more activities.
The surrounding Victoria Falls Park and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park provides a diverse and easily seen wildlife. They also offer various recreational facilities.
The Victoria Falls resort has quality hotel accommodation. Safari lodges are also available from the luxury camps around the area.
The are a number of tour operators offering a variety of services to tourists visiting the Victoria Falls resort. They also offer a variety of holiday packages to suit the needs of the different visitors.
For more information go to: Victoria Falls Resort
