Airline travel may feel like a game, but it's one you can win

PLANES are more crowded than ever, which means less comfort and higher fares. Through October (the latest data available), U.S. airlines had cut the number of flights by 3.4% over the same period the year before, while the number of passengers had increased by 0.5%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Airplanes are flying at 80% capacity, fuller than ever. With a possible wave of consolidation in the industry in 2007, things aren't looking up.

Travelers need to be savvier than ever to get a good fare and a comfortable seat. Here are some tips:

1. What's a deal?

The first task to finding a good deal on airfare is identifying what it is that constitutes a "deal." Check out websites such as Airfarewatchdog.com (www.airfarewatchdog.com), which does as its name implies: a team of experts watches over fares and when it sees a good one, it fetches and delivers it to the website. FareCompare (www.farecompare.com) does a similar thing but uses computers rather than people to find the best fares.

2. Buy now or buy later?

It's the age-old question for travelers. These days it's probably better to buy now if you see a fare that seems a fair price. To help you determine that, visit Farecast (www.farecast.com). It uses computers to analyze historical airfare data and makes a stab at predicting whether that fare is going up or down in the future.

3. Send in the deals

Many websites and airlines will send you a weekly e-mail with a list of deals. For the airlines, travel is usually required that following weekend or the weekend after it. But sites such as Sherman's Travel (www.shermanstravel.com) and Smarter Travel (www.smartertravel.com) will e-mail their weekly top deals that are not dependent on being able to fly at a moment's notice.

4. Avoid rush hour

Fly at off-peak times for better seats, less-crowded planes and better fares. If you can fly midweek, fares will be lower. If you can fly in winter or fall to Europe, for example, fares will be lower. If you can fly both midweek and off-season, real deals can be had -- and not just on airfares but hotels as well. I've been eyeing a trip to London from Los Angeles for the end of March and a nonstop ticket was recently less than $500. In July, that same ticket is priced at more than $1,100.

5. Book directly