Want to get flight tickets at half price?
Discounts as high as 70 to 80 percent is available on www.072air.com, a Web site that sells last-minute tickets.
Many foreign carriers, especially those for Southeast Asia, sell their seats to travel agencies as a ``hard block,'' which is a set of seats. Travel agencies pay money for the seats before making tour programs and selling them to customers. Even if they fail to sell all the programs, they cannot get refunds for the remaining seats.
So, it is better for them to sell the remaining seats at lower prices than running the risk of having vacant seats. The Web site has been set up to sell such remaining tickets.
On average, ticket prices are about half of the original. But as the seats are ``leftover,'' those who want to buy the seats should wait until the last minute before travel agencies give up selling the tour programs _ usually three to five days before departure.
The site will be more suitable for those who are ready to travel at any time than those who need to set up vacation schedules months in advance.
As the tickets are issued according to the same schedule as the unsold tour programs, customers cannot change their return flights.