Well, we knew it would eventually happen and now it has. United Airlines announced today that it will charge larger/heavier passengers for two seats rather than one. The criteria is spelled out at their website, but in a nutshell:

• If you are unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin OR


• Are unable to buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender OR


• Are unable to put the seat's armrests down when seated

Then you will be denied boarding unless you purchase an extra seat. Great news, huh. For those of you who may fall into this category you may want to consider purchasing a first class seat. They tend to be larger. However, depending on your destination and your departure airport, this may be cost prohibitive.

This is affective for tickets purchased after March 4, 2009 and for travel beginning on or after April 15, 2009.

This makes it even more important for you to shop around not only for the best airfare but also for the airline that is best able to accomodate your individual needs.

American Airlines has stated that while the have the right to require a second ticket they will only do so if it can find no other solution, such as moving the larger passenger to a seat next to an empty seat.

Two Tips to Save Cash on Airfare Immediately!

I'm sure you've seen the advertisements on television or the banner advertisements on the internet. You know the ones that promise to save you big money by buying your airline tickets from their website. Seems like they all claim to save you big money, if you only buy from their website.

Well, the two simple tips I'm going to share with you are free. I used these two tips on a recent family vacation to save over $1600 in airfare. You can also save money using these two simple tips. And, it doesn't really matter which website you use to purchase your tickets!

Tip number one. Fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Now, I know you have seen or heard this tip before. But it is true. If you are flexible enough in your travel schedule to depart and return on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you will save money on your next flight. You can save between 8% and 10% by just using this tip. Now, that's not a lot of money if you are talking about one person, but if it's a family of four this could easily save you from $80 on up just by being flexible with your dates. This could pay for a night of the hotel expense or another meal out, depending on where you live and your travel destination.

Tip number two. This airfare saving tip requires a little more effort on your part, but can pay big dividends. After checking your local airport for pricing, check nearby airports for prices and departure times to your destination. Departing from a nearby airport can save you anywhere from a few dollars to several hundred dollars. Again, the key here is flexibility. Let me give you an example. We were planning a family vacation to Hawaii in 2007. We knew this a year in advance. We did not have a concrete date set, but we knew that we wanted to leave about the time school dismissed for summer break. We begin looking for airfare about a year in advance just to get an idea on prices. The fare from our local airport was running anywhere from $780 to $900. About 8 months prior to departure I was checking airfare prices for the local airport (leaving on a Tuesday or Wednesday of course) and the airfare was $780. I checked a neighboring airport (about a 90 minute drive away) and found the tickets for $380 each. We immediately bought 4 tickets and saved $1600 on our airfare. Of course this doesn't factor in gas for the drive over and back but trust me, it wasn't $1600 dollars.

So, when planning your next trip try these two little tips to see if you can save money on your airfare!