According to investment bank Goldman Sachs, we could see oil at $200 a barrel within a year or two.

Wow. A year ago, who could have imagined such a thing?

But it looks like it’s heading that way, so we better be prepared.

And that’s where my list comes in, Five Things to Look For (and what it means and what can you do about it).

Keep reading…

I originally wrote this for NPR, in advance of my guest spot on “Talk of the Nation”; due to space considerations, the folks at NPR had to shorten this a bit, but I thought you’d like to see it in its entirety. Here is the piece in full — Rick

Sometimes I get the feeling that there’s a whole group of people out there who believe in a mythical amendment to our Constitution — one that guarantees us the “Right to Cheap Airline Tickets”!

But anyone who’s actually bought airline tickets in the past 6 months knows this in not an “inalienable right”. And with good reason.

Keep reading; good solid information and great tips ahead!

Are You a Day Trader and Don’t Know It?

Does the promise of a few precious days of R&R have you waking up and checking airline ticket websites morning, noon, and night? And then checking them some more? Market research shows this is exactly what you do, and that most of us shop four to six websites at a time, over several days. All in the search for that increasingly elusive “super cheap” airfare deal.

The reason? Trust. Wait, maybe I should say, lack of trust.

You see, shoppers have noticed that price quotes don’t always match what is actually available, even on the same airline site, on the same day; so it’s hard to trust that the price you’ve been quoted is the best deal. Your instincts say, buy now but…you might be sorry later. Who’s looking out for you? Keep reading, and find out!

United voluntarily grounded 7 of its Boeing 747’s, but an airline spokesperson said yesterday that it wouldn’t disrupt its schedule much AND it was unrelated to “airworthiness.”

This was done after the F.A.A told its inspectors to “reconfirm that airlines were in compliance with all requirements.”

The 747’s were grounded after the FAA told United that the planes had been checked with faulty instruments. If you’ll pardon an ancient cliche, better safe than sorry.

By Saturday night, it was official: Northwest had joined the other legacy carriers in the unprecedented $4 to $50 roundtrip increase (an increase initiated by United last Thursday).

If you’re keeping score, this is the 4^th increase by legacy airlines in as many weeks (but as you’ll see, a couple of airlines are “wavering” a bit).

And yes, it’s all about the high cost of jet fuel.

My predictions, and what we passengers can do, coming right up (just click “more”).

Oil prices continue to rise through the stratosphere, so we should all be prepared to see the legacy airlines initiate a new round of flight cutbacks (capacity cutbacks) and, see slower growth in the lower cost carriers.

The airlines don’t have much choice.

This past week, several airlines came out with February numbers, and revenue was “up”. Of course, you might expect that after 4 “sticky” increases this year and 17 “sticky” increases last year (price increases that have lasted, or “stuck”). Somewhat surprisingly, air travel demand was still firm.

However, there’s a lot of “gloom and doom” out there. I just don’t happen to buy into all of it (yes, you can still find deals — keep reading).

Good News: You don’t have to be Irish to get together for a mid-March family reunion (but it doesn’t hurt!).

Better News: This year, St. Patrick’s Day (March 17^th) is on a Monday.

Yes, a Monday.

Why is that good? Because you can save on a mini-family vacation. Just click “more”, for 2-great tips that’ll work really well for St. Paddy’s Day.

Just the other day, I was thinking about my air travel predictions for this year when, it hit me: airfare is the iPhone of 2008.

No, I haven’t gone round the bend. Still have most of my marbles. But, there are a lot of valid things to be said for comparing finding airfare today, and the experience of folks who stood in line to get that first edition iPhone. Okay, I can explain!

And, I’ll also let you in on my 7-best tips for getting the cheapest tickets in today’s crazy airfare market. Just click “more” to see it all.

Each and every day, airfare changes are made. Sometime, it’s in the tens of thousands. Sometimes, it’s hundreds of thousands a day.

And here at FareCompare, we track them all. A single “research mode query” (your question about a particular fare) hits over 10-computers during this process, but gets you your information in about 2-seconds! That’s how we get you word of the cheap airfare sales first!

We also have over 3-billion “historical” airfares to help you can make the best buying decisions.

Put it all together, with our Email Alerts. You simply sign in, and get the best deals, first.