PG: Exactly. Now, speaking of flight deals, you recently did a story on the different types of flights and fares associated with them this summer.

Most people think ‘direct’ means non-stop. It’s not. Direct means you’re staying on the same plane, and it’s going to stop somewhere. Non-stop means you don’t stop. And then, there’s the connecting flight.

If you actually do fare comparisons, as you did, Anne, what do find about the difference between a non-stop and a connecting flight?

AB: You can get a cheaper airfare in many cases by taking a connecting flight, but it’s always a toss-up. If you’re somebody who is on a budget and you need to save money, often times taking that extra stop, can really make the difference between going and not going. There are things to consider––especially time and possibly getting your baggage mishandled.

PG: There is a trade-off, but it often depends on the circumstances. For example, the lowest non-stop fare from Dallas to London was $1,121, but if you did a one-stop, it went down to $977, so that’s a $200 savings. With Los Angeles to Philadelphia, a one-stop was $292, but a non-stop was $330. With a difference of $40, you should just take the non-stop.

AB: With international flights, we tested Denver to Frankfurt. It’s $976 with one stop and over $1300 non-stop.

PG: My secret trick is the Round-the-World (RTW) ticket. Let’s say you want to go from New York to Nairobi, the cheapest coach fare is probably around $1600. For about $1800, you can buy an RTW ticket. An RTW ticket will still get you from New York to Nairobi, but then you get to continue on, in the same direction I might add, and go all around the world for almost the same fare. And you get miles.

With miles, you create, almost, a free ticket in the process of using one of ticket.

AB: Very true, and you see the world. It’s great if you’re a flexible traveler and you have that time that you can go.

What are you doing to save money? See if you can stump the experts with your airfare ideas?

For more travel information, check out:

• Travel Tip: New Airline Routes
• Ask Peter: When to Book Summer Flights?
• Video Travel Tip: Best Day to Buy Cheap Airfare
• The Airplanes & Airport archives

By Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg Worldwide