Airline Information and Search Engines
4. What you can do:
  1. Search the internet for the lowest ticketed 7 day, 14 day or 21 day airfare before contacting a ticket agent. For your information, military airfares are not accessible on the internet; however, you will have the necessary information to quote the lowest airfare for ticketed flights.
  2. Call the airlines. Are their military fares equal to or lower than the best price a civilian can book?
  3. Ask for the lowest priced airfare you found on the internet. Even if you have only 3 days prior to your leave and the lowest airfare is a 21 day advance booking ticket, the airline should give you the lower price to be in compliance with H.R. 2115.
  4. If they refuse, ask if they are aware of H.R. 2115. If not, speak with a supervisor. Refer to the information contained in #1 above, section (b).
  5. Explain that you expect the airline to honor the Sense of Congress resolution. It is the right thing to do. Tell them: "I urge you to comply with H.R. 2115. Our men and women in uniform deserve fundamental fair treatment and should not be forced to pay higher ticketed airfare because of their unpredictable deployment and leave schedules." Continue to insist they give you the lowest ticketed airfare.
  6. If the airline refuses to comply with H.R. 2115, contact your congressman and advise him or her of the airline's lack of compliance. Listed below are links to assist you finding your congressman's e-mail address:
  7. Sign our Fair Military Airfare petition: www.petitiononline.com/BSMMIL/petition.html
US House of Representatives: www.house.gov/writerep
US Senators: www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm

5. Airline information:
When calling any airline, always mention that the ticket is for an individual in the military.
Southwest Airlines Southwest is one of the top two or three U.S. carriers in terms of responsiveness and willingness to help our men and women in uniform. They now have two airfares designated for the military, M1MILNR and YM, for active duty military personnel, their dependents with ID, and U.S. Military who have been discharged from active duty and complete their travel within seven days of discharge. The YM fare is not as low as their M1MILNR airfare, but still offers a discount off the full, unrestricted coach fare. Southwest extended these military airfares through August 22, 2008.
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines offers several special fares exclusively for active duty members of the U.S. Military who are on leave. As a service to Blue Star Mothers, Continental employees have had special training to assist with military fares. They have created a direct reservation line for active duty military. Germany toll free number: 0800/000-4878
Effective February 20, 2007, Continental has implemented functionality to book online at www.continental.com. This web site will only be available to active military members and their eligible family members who have a valid federal government ID. This web site will only accept personal credit cards to purchase these capacity controlled air fares. No federal government credit cards can be used.
Jet Blue Jet Blue is another low-cost carrier that we recommend checking though they do not offer special military airfares.
NOTE: Airlines increasingly advertise and list their fares without including most of the taxes and fees. United, Delta, Northwest and Continental all give the full price up front. Southwest, U.S. Airways, American West and Jet Blue all throw taxes and fees in later. All the major travel agents still include fees and taxes in the prices they list, even if the airline doesn't include them on its own web site. This results in some tickets showing up as one price on expedia.com or travelocity.com and another price on the airline's own site, even though it's actually the same ticket. For now, check for an asterisk when pricing airline tickets.
Information Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAXLAX Flight ArrivalsLAX Airport Parking
Flight status information, airport parking, airlines location and contacts, terminal map. URL: http://www.airport-la.com Real-time flight arrivals and departures. URL: http://www.airport-la.com/lax/arrivals Short and long term airport parking and shuttle to terminals. URL: http://www.airport-la.com/info/parking.html
Web sites to help you book a flight.
whichbudget.com This web site shows which low-cost carriers fly to and from various cities and countries.
LowCostAirlines.org This web site lists budget airlines in many regions of the world.
CheapFlights.com Domestic and International overview of the best deals and bargains on your route.
SideStep.com Side by side comparison with other low fare sites for airfares, hotels, cars and vacations.
QIXO.com Web site searches more than 28 popular airfare sites and finds the best price and flight time.
AirGorilla.com Their motto is "we stomp the competition." Judge for yourself. Quotes for airfares, hotels, cars, and vacation packages.
Offdutytravel.com Offers special deals for eligible active duty, retired, Reserve, National Guard, DOD civilians and family members on air, cruise and other travel related services.
farecompare.com They say "Let us show you the best deals we can find!"
bestfares.com They say "Travel the world for less."
6. Why we need your help:
We need to let the airlines know that the public is aware of H.R. 2115 and that we expect for them to comply with it. The power of a collective voice on legislative issues which support our troops and vets, will be better received in Congress and the airlines will become more responsive. Please contact us at airfare@bluestarmoms.org and let us know of your travel experiences and whether the airlines honor our amendment.

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