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Show T r u ft A I V ! CHRONICLE UTAH p Wgnna 1 LIFE p 'Jp Make Your Spring fasfasf Plans On the Internet JENNIFER PFAFFUN Chronicle Feature Writer ' Think spring. Mild weather aside, that statement is rarely on the minds of those who start to think spring come February. Rather, it's the week off of school they're thinking of, when they could be warming their fannies by an ocean-sid- e cabana on a cliched spring-brea- k junket to Cancun. According to Student Travel Association Marketing Manager Laura Stegeman, travel packages to Cancun and Jamaica are already filling up quickly thanks in part to the ability to reserve tickets at a special student discount via the STA Web site. Students have usually been careful about protecting their pocketbooks, and with more airlines and travel agencies staking ground on the Internet, penny-pinchin- g travelers can now compare airline fares faster than Jeff Bezos laughs his way to the bank. Stegeman sees the explosion as something students are naturally more interested in and are more inclined to use. "Students like to do things online," Stegeman said. "They are more computer savvy than the average public." Besides the relative ease of shopping online, travelers can usually find the lowest fare possible through comparison shopping sites, like priceline.com. "By checking the prices and doing the comparisons, a consumer is going to find the best prices on the Internet," said Kelli Miller, area marketing manager for Southwest Airlines. Southwest, which seems Jo be a little more than the other airlines, offers its lowest fares through Internet specials. Once every Tuesday, the company posts its "Southwest Specials," special fares that could not be obtained if you book your flight over the phone. So, with Spring Break 2K right around the corner, The Daily Utah Chronicle decided to take a look at the full monty of these online airline agencies to determine which could have you flying to sunnier pastures and which ones could leave you grounded. PRICELINE (www.pricdine.com) A slick advertising cam paign (see Captain Kirk's latest voyage) is probably the only advantage Priceline has over its The company's competitors. is it that does offer strongest point an "Increase your Chances" option the "how low would you go?" feature for those desperate for a cheap flight. Increase your chances by optk hours (no ing to fly during 6 a.m. before big deal, really just fly or after 10 p.m.) or opt to fly on a "non-jaircraft" (which could be a SuperProp 800, for ail you know). After choosing to fly coach (of course), Priceline asks you to name your price. Your first instinct is to offer them a buck and see what kind of flights show up, but unless you off-pea- et take out your credit card, you'll never know how far your dollar will actually take you. In order to find a flight, Priceline asks for your credit card information before you sec the flight options it has found for you. And you never will, since after giving Priceline your credit card number, it will automatically lock in your asking price and purnonchase the refundable ticket for you. You have no idea what time, what airport or what airline your flight will be on. If Priceline doesn't find a flight to match your price, it will not charge anything to your credit card; but for skeptics, that's anything but piece of mind. RATING: 44" 4 (out of four) &5JCE03CFT EXPEDIA TRAVEL (wwvj.expcdic.msn.com Like Priceline, Expedia offers to find the lowest airline fare by comparing the prices of different airlines. However, Expedia shows you what airfares it has found for you, including departure times and airports, without requiring you to hand see TRAVEL, page 8 Dave 'n7 Stiif's Magic Superstition Puzzle in the answers to the clues provided at right, and then write the corresponding Setter in the numbered spaces at the bottom. Our first Simply fill reader to come to the Chronicle (240 Union) with a!! the correct answers will get a great prize. Okay, so it's a lame prize. But hey, it's free stuff. ... It is bad luck to open one of 3PCi these indoors Some folks read this to find out how their doy will go This political philosooher wrote about the tocial contract. ...in this book H spread Christ's message . .and had his name changsd to this after Dcmascus pnnjpppprn ImjEElB Breaking' a mirror is years bad luck This Greets constructed a philosophy eroua math The Greek god with an oracle at Dslphl This philosopher wrote tht, "God is dead" ; h 9KHHri ... "r nil r mQUQBD. "CEJPP " A word , A II li This Cervantes hero preached kindness This American poet wrote extensively cn democracy The world's first historian r'1 tc the vme from the wis?: m nnnn nn Rnrnnnri- mm 1 - CHRONICLE FEATURE EDITOR rrrr UUUL SHANE McCAMMON in SHAN EC CHRONICLE. UTAH.EDU 501-704- 1 w J N |
