Whenever you wind up in a state of affairs where you have procrastinated in making your flight arrangements, or if an emergency occurs that necessitates last minute travel, then you need not worry. Though there are numerous tales concerning being stuck with exorbitant prices for eleventh hour flights, this is not necessarily true. In reality, reserving later may frequently lead to sweeter airfare deals.

The travel industry in general and travel websites in particular are in a heated battle for your business. This is great information for consumers who travel because the options are greater than ever for finding discounted tickets for traveling last minute. Just by spending a small amount of time researching airfare deals on the various travel websites should enable you to grab some cheap deals on airfares, hotel reservations and car reservations as well. Compare deals on several travel sites. Visit as many as possible and comparison shop. You will almost always find a better deal somewhere.

Being willing to compromise about your departure date and time will definitely help in finding cheap airfare deals. The airlines count on last minute travelers who will not compromise and charge them full price for plane tickets thus fattening their profits. Cheap airfares are available to those who are willing to depart at odd hours. Tuesday and Wednesday are usually the slowest days for the airlines. If you can depart on these days you could save 25 percent or more on your airfare. And, if you are traveling to a large city with more than one airport, you can sometimes get a better deal just by compromising about which one you fly to.

Always check with the airlines website. Airlines often have last minute deals on air tickets if their flights are not full. This information is usually available only on their site and not shared with the travel sites. Also, be sure to accept their email travel alerts. The airlines send these out to sell those last unfilled seats. Some great bargains can be had this way. And, be sure to check their sites on Saturday mornings. They tend to post good end of the week deals then.

Finally, try to find a good travel agent that you like dealing with. They work with all the airlines and may be able to help you in finding your deal on last minute travel.

If you are a frequent flier, you probably know all of these tips and then some. But if you are new to the game then they should give you a jump start on becoming a seasoned last minute travel planner.