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We're Hiring!

CheapOair.com, founded in 2005, is one of the Top 10 online travel websites in the U.S. CheapOair offers Airfares, Hotels, Car Rentals and Vacation Package deals. Our portfolio includes 18 million exclusive flight deals, low airfare guarantees, 84,000 negotiated hotel rates and the technological foundation to deliver affordable tickets to every region in the world. Our vision is to develop and enhance the latest technologies into scalable travel solutions for today’s savvy traveler. We receives about 18 million web visits per month, 300,000 flight searches per day and is ranked #160 website by Quantcast.

CheapOair is comprised of dedicated travel professionals and industry experts who are proactive, passionate about their role and think outside the box. Together, they shape the vision of CheapOair, to provide a wide selection of travel products and excellent services for today’s web savvy traveler.

We are always looking for talent in various departments. If you love travel and are bursting with ideas, we want to hear from you. If you’re a go-getter who can take ownership of your tasks and responsibilities, send us a resume. Wow us! In 100 words or less, tell us why you’re perfect for CheapOair.com.

Our Current Job Openings:

TRAVEL AGENTS
We are seeking experienced Travel Agents to join our expanding Call Center team. As our Travel Agent, you will be responsible for:
Providing our clients the best travel package deals.

• Offering prompt, accurate and courteous service to clients.

• Assisting clients with reservations, transfers and changes.

• Responding to clients’ questions, concerns and billing inquiries with the highest degree of professionalism.

• Maintaining excellent relationships with our clients.

Requirements:

• Prior travel agency/airline experience working in the call center/sales department

• Must have GDS experience: knowledge of SABRE and/or Amadeus

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Flexible work schedules, ability to work weekends

• Must be a team player

• Knowledge of a second language a plus

FRAUD PROTECTION AGENTS

Our Fraud Protection Agents are passionate about protecting the company and the public from credit card and other fraudulent activities. As part of our Fraud Protection team, you will be:

• Contacting customers and banks to verify credit card information.

• Verifying and catching all frauds.

• Canceling fraudulent bookings.

• Responding to customer calls/e-mails and resolving customer concerns.

• Processing interdepartmental queries and requirements.

• Generating reports as required by manager.

• Ad hoc projects

Requirements:

• Basic knowledge of an Airline Reservation system (GDS) required - SABRE and/or Amadeus

• Must have at least one (1) year experience working in a customer service department

• Experience with credit card processing/verifications a plus

• Must have working knowledge of Destination Geography and City codes

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications

• Knowledge of a second language a plus

• Ability to work in a fast paced environment and work under pressure

• Must be detail oriented

GROUP DESK TRAVEL AGENT

We are also growing our Group Reservations Desk. Our Group Travel Agents help our customers plan, book and manage all their group travel needs (10 or more people). In addition, they are responsible for:

• Facilitating the travel planning and booking for all our group customers.

• Responding to all group e-mails and online requests within 24 hours

• Offering excellent service to clients.

• Maintaining strong lasting relationships with airlines, hotels and other vendors to ensure our group customers receive the best travel package.

Requirements:

• Must have prior experience handling group reservations

• Must have GDS experience: knowledge of SABRE and/or Amadeus

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Flexible work schedules

• Must be a team player

• Knowledge of a second language a plus

ASP.NET WEB APPLICATION/SQL DEVELOPER

We are looking for a Mid level ASP.NET Web Application / SQL Developer who has at least 3+ years experience in web application development. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated, fast learner person with a passion for technology and a desire to become the best at what they do.

We expect you to have:

• 3+ years of professional experience with ASP.NET and C#.

• Knowledge of object oriented programming, ADO.NET, Web Services, XML.

• Broad knowledge of HTML, DHTML, CSS, JavaScript as demonstrated by one or more years of professional experience. (This includes the ability to hand-code standards compliant code, create moderately complex JavaScript functions, etc.)

• Commitment to craftsmanship and creating “professional” quality code. (You care what your code looks like.)

• Experience with MS SQL Server programming, which includes stored procedure programming, views and table creation based on Data Modeling.

• Must be proficient in using SQL Management Studio or SQL Enterprise Manager.

• Ability to clearly communicate and understand technical and business requirements.

• A strong desire and commitment to continued learning and a passion for web-based technology. Curiosity that lets you appreciate new developments.

• Good communication skills and the ability to work well in a fast-paced team oriented environment.

 

It would be nice if you have…

• Exposure to n-tier development, relational database design

• Experience with SQL Reporting Services

• Experience with SQL Server 2005

• Experience with Windows 2003 Server Administration

• Experience with .NET 2.0 concepts & Visual Studio Team System editions

• Experience with unit testing and load testing

• Experience with Microsoft Application Blocks

• Experience with Ajax, JQuery etc.

The Benefits you will enjoy include:
• Working for an exciting company enjoying tremendous hyper-growth and that strives to help everyone achieve their professional and personal goals
• Attractive compensation package, including competitive salaries, bonuses and incentives
• Excellent benefits programs, including paid time off and travel benefits
• Working at our Headquarters located in the heart of Manhattan – 1 block from NY Penn Station
• Exceptional opportunities for your creative ideas to blossom within a supportive teamwork environment.

If you are interested in joining our winning team, please e-mail your cover letter and resume in confidence to corissa@CheapOair.com

Bangkok

Have you ever considered a trip to Bangkok? Check out this amateur video and the great fares to Bangkok from CheapOair!

Did You Know? Travel Facts!

Adventure Travel - One-half of U.S. adults, or 98 million people, have taken an adventure trip in the past five years. This includes 31 million adults who engaged in hard adventure activities like whitewater rafting, scuba diving and mountain biking. Adventure travelers are more likely to be young, single and employed compared to all other U.S. adults.

African-American travel volume is up 4 percent from 2000 to 2002 (increasing from 72.2 million to 75.2 million person-trips), higher than the two percent increase for travelers overall during the same time period. Compared to travelers overall, nearly three times as many African-American person-trips involve group tours (10% vs. 3%). African-American households spend $428 per trip, on average, excluding spending on transportation to their destination.

Beaches are still one of the most popular travel activities. One in ten person-trips (10%) includes going to a beach, equating to 109.5 million domestic person-trips taken in the U.S. in 2003.

Children Travel Too! One in four household trips in the U.S. (26%) include children under 18, or 170.1 million trips in total in 2003. Most (91%) trips with children are for leisure, nearly half of which are taken to visit friends or relatives. Four in ten (44%) overnight trips with children include a stay in a hotel, motel or bed and breakfast establishment.

Crimes against travelers occur 40 percent less often than crimes against non-travelers.

Educational Travel: The learning aspect of travel is important to U.S. travelers, with about one-fifth —30.2 million adults— having taken an educational trip to learn or improve a skill, sport or hobby in the past three years.

One in five (22%) U.S. adults say they took a trip to attend a family reunion in just the past year. Keeping with the family theme, more than half of reunions are held in someone's home (52%).

Gambling is a common activity on many American trips and is growing in popularity. Trips including gambling currently account for eight percent of all U.S. travel, generating 78.6 million person-trips in 2002.

Hispanic travel volume is up 20 percent from 2000 to 2002 (increasing from 64.1 million to 77.1 million person-trips), much higher than the two percent growth of travelers overall. A majority of Hispanic person-trips are for leisure (77%), of which visiting friends or relatives is the ultimate goal for many (43%). Entertainment trips (16%) and outdoor recreation (8%) make up smaller shares of Hispanic person-trips.

Honeymooners outspend the average traveler by more than three times. On average, they spent $1,402, while the average trip expenditure in 1994 for all travelers was considerably less at $421.

National/State Park Travel American travelers love the great outdoors as evidenced by the 40 percent of all U.S. adults in 2003 who have visited a national park at least once while on a trip of 50 miles or more, one-way, away from home in the past five years. In 2002 alone, U.S. traveling households generated 87 million leisure person-trips including national or state parks.

Outdoor recreation and/or visiting national or state parks is one of the top activities for U.S. travelers taking leisure trips within the U.S. One in four (23%) leisure person-trips includes some form of outdoor recreation and/or a visit to a national or state park. Outdoor trips are also likely to be taken by car (76%) and one in six (17%) outdoor trips includes camping in an RV or tent.

Pet Travel: Fluffy and Fido are popular travel companions, with 14 percent of all U.S. adults (29.1 million) saying they have traveled with a pet on a trip of 50 miles or more, one-way, away from home in the past three years. Dogs are the most common type of pet to take along (78%).

Religious Services are often an important part of any travel experience. One-fourth (28%) of adult travelers in the U.S. went to a church, temple, mosque or other place of worship to attend a regularly scheduled religious service while on a trip of 100 miles or more, one-way, in the past year.

Romantic Travel: More than 42 million Americans say they have taken at least one trip in the past year to attend a wedding, go on a honeymoon, or celebrate an anniversary. This equates to 20 percent of all U.S. adults traveling for romance-related purposes in the past year.

Solo Vacationing...Exploring a destination on your own at your own pace appeals to many Americans. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. travelers, or 34.8 million U.S. adults, have taken a vacation by themselves in the past three years. These travelers are less likely than total U.S. travelers to be married and to have children in their household. The solo vacationer is 42 years of age with an average annual household income of $54,000. More than one-quarter (26%) have a professional or managerial occupation, 53% are male, 47% female and 38% have completed college.

Two out of five U.S. adults (38%) attended an organized sports event, competition or tournament as either a spectator or as a participant while traveling in the past five years. This equates to 75.3 million U.S. adults.

Staying wired while traveling is important to business and pleasure travelers. In 2002, seven in ten (69%) of the 36.9 million business travelers say they brought along a cellular phone on a past-year business trip. One in four (25%) brought a laptop computer.

Theme/Amusement Park Travel: One in ten (9%) person-trips includes a visit to a theme or amusement park, equating to over 92 million person-trips taken in the U.S. in 2002.

Vacation leave is often used for travel. Over one-fourth of employed travelers (28%) use all of their vacation time traveling to points at least 100 miles from their home, and two-thirds of employed travelers (65%) spend at least one-half of their vacation time traveling. On average, employed travelers spent 56% of their 1997 vacations traveling. If weekends are excluded, this translates to travelers spending about 8 days out of 14 vacation days on the road.

Weekend travel is more popular than ever, with half of all U.S. adults--nearly 103 million--taking at least one weekend trip per year. Almost 30 percent of Americans have taken five or more weekend trips in the past year and 35 percent of all weekend travelers say they've taken their children with them on at least one weekend trip.

These and other interesting travel facts can be found on the US Travel Association website.

Udaipur, India

Following up on our post from last week on the Cheap Travel Deals Blog on Top Tips to Doing India on the Cheap, we bring you a short video on beautiful Udaipur, India!

Unusual Restaurants

For your next vacation, why not seek out something off the beaten path, like an unforgettable restaurant experience?!

Safe House - Milwaukee

The Safe House in Milwaukee offers you an opportunity to explore your spy instincts. The place is really interactive, from the time you go in through the duration of your visit.  To gain access to the premises you would need a secret password though the restaurant claims that “Control” has never turned away any hungry agents.
The place is total fun equipped with hidden TV cameras that allow all the patrons in the restaurant watch new patrons do silly things to gain entrance. Right from the menu to the ambience all give you a feel of being on a “James Bond” like mission. Do not miss the secret exit through one of the phone booths which complete the “Secret Mission”

Modern Toilet - Taipei, Taiwan

Modern Toilet is a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan with a modern decor and a full-on toilet theme. At this restaurant everything is bathroom themed right from the dishes to decor. The chairs used for seating the guests are toilets and the walls are covered with showerheads. All 100 seats in the crowded diner are made from toilet bowls, not chairs. Food tastes great, and the way they serve it is as original as the place itself. The dishes are served in mini urinals and toilets.

Opaque - San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego

Opaque offers unique “Dining in the Dark” experience. The dining experience allows you to willingly plunge into a world of sensitivity you have never experienced before, taking you through a journey of taste, sound and touch, all in the dark.

“Dining in the Dark” experience available in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco is a unique multi-sensual dining experience by abandoning vision in exchange of memorable encounter with the dark.

Got dinner?

Paranormal Tourism

Vacations are not just about relaxing and soaking yourself in the sun anymore. With new genres being added to travel every day the quest for finding something unusual and interesting continues.

We have always been fascinated and to certain extent frightened by the paranormal. The popularity of TV reality shows depicting ghost hunters exploring haunted houses, hotels and historical buildings has fascinated many. This has also sparked a desire for people to combine their curiosity of all things paranormal with travel and tourism.

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. It is most famous for a series of local legends centered on the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which killed 46 people. According to these legends, a moth-like humanoid was seen by several Point Pleasant residents in the weeks leading up to the disaster. The creature is said to have predicted the collapse and is the source of the book and movie, The Mothman Prophecies.

Paranormal enthusiasts flock to Point Pleasant in search of Mothman, a creature said to inhabit an abandoned TNT plant from World War II. You can learn some fiction about the Mothman on the old TV series, "The X-Files," or in the 2002 movie with Richard Gere, "The Mothman Prophecies."

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Adams County, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg, home to the Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War, draws in large numbers of tourists every year to visit the historical sites around the small community as well as the battlefield itself.

It's a wonderful destination for those who would like to mix their love of history with the paranormal. Another hotspot for paranormal activity, a trip to Gettysburg offers fans of ghosts and haunting battlefield tours and various street tours filled with sites of apparent paranormal activity. Some people claim to see Civil War soldiers searching for loved ones on the haunted battlefields.

Winchester Mystery House, California

The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known California mansion that was under construction continuously for 38 years, and is reported to be haunted. The mansion is renowned for its size and utter lack of any master building plan. According to popular belief, Winchester thought the house was haunted by the ghosts of individuals killed by Winchester rifles and that only continuous construction would appease them.

This 160 bedroom Victorian mansion has many oddities. There are windows on the floor, staircases that lead to the ceiling, doors that open to brick walls, and doors that lead nowhere but to a sudden death drop three stories above the ground.

Believe it or not, these unusual experiences make for fascinating travel!

Fort Lauderdale

Thinking about a trip to Ft Lauderdale? This video tells you everything you need to know about packing for your trip!

Looking for a cheap flight to Fort Lauderdale? CheapOair has them as low as $199 (over $100 CHEAPER than our competitors)!

Welcome to the Real Metropolis

Metropolis: “Home of Superman”

Did you know there is a real Metropolis? It's not just a fictional town from a comic book? The real town may not bear too much resemblance to the fictional version (no superpower bad guys lurking behind every corner, or tragic, dramatic events unfolding every day). But it is a real town, with a "super" story to it.

Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. The city was conceptualized in the year 1839, long before the publication of the first Superman comic. In the year 1972 when the man of steel was capturing everyone’s heart, Metropolis came up with a proposal for DC Comics. That is when Metropolis was declared as "Hometown of Superman".

Facts about the city

• On June 9, 1972 the Illinois State Legislature passed Resolution 572 that declared Metropolis the "Hometown of Superman," the comic book superhero who is based in the fictional city of Metropolis.

• The city has a local newspaper, known as The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet.

• Since the city is home of Superman it has a giant statue of him on a main street in downtown Metropolis, located in front of the town courthouse.

• Unlike the movie set, this small town consists only of approximately 6,000 residents (as per census of 2000), a post office, a courthouse and about 150 small businesses.

• Ironic Twist- There is no movie theater in Metropolis and people who want to see a theatrical release of a Superman film, set in their town's must travel to another town to do so.

For Visitors

The Promenade: The pedestrian friendly concourse is lined with trees, water fountains, kiosks, street furniture and special performance areas. The streetscape is lined with buildings averaging 3-stories containing ground level restaurants and shops opening onto the Promenade.

Water Park Hotel is an important component to the Ferry Street Promenade District. The Hotel is distinguished by an approximate 1-acre Water Park, which is enclosed under a 30 to 50-foot high structure and includes waterslides, lazy river, activity pools, kiddy pools and adult spas.

Museum Store: Museum Store is located across the street from the Courthouse and Town Square on the site of the existing Superman Gift and Collector’s Store. Whether it is the existing Superman Gift and Collector’s Store or a new and expanded Museum Store, both seek to attract visitors and patrons to the Uptown.

Community Center: The Community Center includes a Welcome Center for visitors and guests, a Food Court and Coffee House, outdoor patios, Game Rooms and Lounges, a Chamber of Commerce Specialty Store, and a corner plaza. The second floor level provides additional meeting rooms and a small theater.

Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa

Do you think Iowa is all corn, farms, and chickens? Look again. Deep in the heart of Iowa lies the model city Maharishi Vedic City.

This unique city was built on the principles and teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a model of ideal city life. The unique city is located two miles north of Fairfield in Southeast Iowa. Deriving its name from the Sanskrit word Veda meaning “book of knowledge,” the city aims at enhancing the quality of every aspect of life. Every building is designed as per Vastu Shastra i.e Indian science of space and architecture to promote health, happiness and good fortune.

Facts about the city:

• Each building faces east and has a central silent space called a Brahmasthan(a special central zone in a building free from any obstructions aimed at generating positive energy) and a golden roof ornament called a kalash.
• Often described as the healthiest city in America, it is home to the College of Maharishi Vedic Medicine and The Raj, America’s flagship health center and spa
• Maharishi Vedic City is administered by a five-person city council and a mayor. Few laws or ordinances exist, citing natural law as the governing principle of the city.
• The Census Bureau's 2006 estimated the city's population as 222 people.
• The City in order to highlights the importance of healthy food for their citizen has banned the sale of all non-organic food.
• Sanskrit has been named the city's "ideal language," although other languages are used.
• The City Council adopted Raam Mudra as the ideal local currency to support economic development in the city. There is a fixed exchange rate of one Raam for $10. The currency is available in denominations of one, five and ten.
• City has won vote for the “American Dream Town” in Iowa

For the Travelers

• Maharishi Vedic Observatory:
  • The Observatory is open-air observatory of masonry sundials which can tell the time, the day, and the positions of the stars and planets using the movement of sun.
• The Raj Hotel and Resort:
  • Offers the world's most time tested and effective system of prevention oriented natural health care, including scientifically verified programs which address chronic disorders.
• Rukmapura Hotel: 
  • It’s a large log-built hotel. The visitors can see the campus where nearly holy men from India help create peace and harmony in the world.

Not quite your typical Iowa sterotype is it?

Introducing CheapOair Ask an Expert

CheapOair wants to make sure you get the most out of your travel experience. Sometimes even the most seasoned traveler has questions about how things work, why things are the way they are, and how to avoid spending too much money. As a leader in the travel industry, we are able to answer those questions for you. But first, you have to ask! So if you would like to know how airfares are set, or why some websites offer hotel deals at different prices, or why you can't get your money back for missed travel, PLEASE ASK US!

This isn't the proper forum for complaints or specific personal questions. If you have a personal customer service request, please contact our customer service department 24/7!

So leave your questions in the comments section! And every Friday our experts will answer you!