I was whining about the cost of airplane tickets on Facebook and a whole bunch of you sent me emails asking for advice: tickets, airports, dates... We are all CONFUSED! I was thinking of doing a personal post on how Kyle and I travel but then it occurred to me that it'd be way better to seek advice from someone who actually books flights for a living. I am really excited to introduce you to Dessie Kachlakeva. I have "known" Dessie for about 6 years now. My friend Elena gave me her email a few years back when we were in gradschool and swore Dessie was the best travel agent there was. I agree. Throughout the years, Dessie has booked numerous flights for me and Kyle. She also helped some of our in-laws purchase their wedding tickets to Bulgaria back in 2007. I approached Dessie with some questions and she was gracious enough to respond. I hope this helps!!! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live and work? How did you get there? I have been working in different areas in the travel industry both in Bulgaria and the United States for about 14 years now. I used to work as a travel guide for German and English tourists at Balkantourist-Sofia, where I spend 5 years and then gathered some work experience at the Marketing Department of Rodina Hotel, Sofia. In 2002 I married and relocated to California, USA, where back in 2004 I founded
DDK Travel- a travel agency, offering complete travel solutions for destination Bulgaria. My main goal was to make our home country Bulgaria more popular as a travel destination in North America. Our primary business activity has always been air travel. We strive to do our best to offer all our clients the most attractive airfares to destination Bulgaria.
Probably a short note about education deserves a place here- I graduated from the University of National and World Economics, Sofia, Bulgaria with a major in International Travel and Tourism and right now I am working towards obtaining my MBA Degree in General Management with University of Massachusetts.
Many of my friends and readers have been sending me frazzled emails, airplane tickets to Bulgaria are so expensive! Are we all looking at the wrong places? Why are prices so high right now?Well, in my own consideration prices for summer 2010 are so high because of the extremely bad in terms of travel 2009, when all the airlines were offering huge discounts on their fares in an attempt to attract more passengers in times of recession, when travel is usually the last item on most people's agendas....This year, they are trying to make up for the lost revenues due to the decreased volume of sales last year, and are thus raising airfares.
It is difficult to make any predictions whether they will be revising their prices, but I believe that in the long-term (autumn and winter 2010) prices will start gradually going down back to their normal, more attractive levels. On the other hand, Bulgaria Air and United were able to introduce a sale on their flights from all US airports to Bulgaria, which lasted for whole 3 months (January- March)! The airfares for departures until 15 June were between $800 and $1,100, and many clients, who even hadn't planned to visit Bulgaria this year, were tempted by the attractive prices and decided to go!
Would you share some general tips on getting the best deals on air-travel? What is the cheapest time of the year to fly? Which are the best airports to fly in and out of?The prices of airline tickets are a function of seasonality, destinations (city pairs) and availability. A determinant of a lesser significance here is the "actual fare figure", because it is similar for most carriers for a certain city pair.
Also, availability is a subject to a constant change -therefore, if you get a fare that looks attractive to you, "lock it",i.e. make a reservation with a traditional agency (online engines cannot do that). And, because of the ever changing availability and therefore constant change in pricing on the different contracts, looking for more attractive fares both offline and online would be the best thing to do.
In order to maximize benefits we notify our clients in a timely manner about upcoming and current deals and promotions. The service is completely free, and we will add your email address, if you send us an email with a request to do so at
office@vacationsbulgaria.com. As this interview goes to publishing the most expensive summer season for all airlines starts between 15MAY-22MAY and ends around 28 AUGUST-07 SEPTEMBER. Shoulder seasons (April till mid May, September and October) offer cheaper airfares compared to the high season ones, and the least expensive airfares can be obtained for travel in the low season, i.e. during the months of November, December (excluding the dates around Christmas- this period of time is considered for most airlines as a high season!), January and February. The outbound date of travel determines the seasonal fare to be charged.
Speaking of airports and their influence on the price of airline tickets, generally the fares out of the East Coast airport locations as well as those out of major airports are cheaper; but having in mind the fact, that, as of now, Virgin Atlantic offers the lowest fares to Bulgaria, especially during the summer months I'd suggest flying out of New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, San Fransisco to Sofia (or Varna) if possible in order to take advantage of these fares, in case the respective availability is present. Also, in order to achieve a lower fare we sometimes do different flight combinations.
Do you have any specific advice for families with kids? My husband and I just purchased tickets that cost us a little under $3000!!! I can't even imagine having to do this trip with a couple of kids in tow. For families with infants and young kids I would suggest picking up flights with fewer connections (ideally one or 2 at the most) and flights with less connection time. Infants are entitled to much cheaper fares (10% of the adult's fare + small tax, total rarely exceeds $270), but be aware, that if your infant is more than 6 months old and weighs more than 10 kg (whichever comes first) it will most likely not receive a crib and you will have to carry it in your lap. With this in mind some parents prefer to purchase a seat for their 1 year of age + infants to seat them comfortably.Because the policies of the airlines are so different here, the best you can do is just call the respective airline (or ask your travel agent) about their policies for accommodating infants on board.
What are the advantages of working with a travel agent as opposed to scouring the web for cheap deals? Kyle and I spent A LOT OF TIME looking for cheap flights online and I'm not convinced it was really worth it.I would definitely suggest to always inquire a traditional (also known as brick-and-mortar) travel agent before making your final decisions about purchasing any airplane tickets. Although we rarely can quote a price immediately as the online booking engine does, clients are getting the responses to their inquiries pretty soon. Our agency is committed, for instance, to providing clients with a complete offer within 24 hours from submitting the actual inquiry (we respond usually within the timeframe of the day), so it does not take a long time to get a response.< style="font-style: italic;">always cheaper than the ones found online, but it is certainly worth inquiring a traditional agency before making your final decision on a given purchase. Good luck:-)
How often do you travel to Bulgaria? When do you travel? How long do you stay? What do you do when you are there?I travel to Bulgaria every year and spend usually the entire summer over there. I try to purchase my ticket for the summer travel ahead of time- usually by the end of March at the latest, because this way you are more likely to be quoted a lower fare in addition to the greater choice of flights you have available. Also, I try to make a stopover in the connecting European city (with most airlines one can do that for little or no charge at all). My trips are a nice combination of business and leisure. We have to sign and revise current contracts with hotels and wholesale suppliers of travel products in Bulgaria. Besides work, I personally use this time to entertain myself; to travel throughout the country and to visit different towns, places of interest and landmarks and show them to guests from abroad. This is actually my favorite pastime. Enjoy your next trip to beautiful Bulgaria!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Dessie! If you end up getting in touch with Dessie, be sure to mention you heard about
DDK from this blog. I really hope this interview was helpful (I know it was for me!) and please share notes on smart travel to and within Bulgaria! Many of us are in the process of planning our summer vacations. Let's help each other out!
P.S. This is not an advertisement. Dessie did not pay me to interview her on the blog. Also, I am not getting any free tickets for writing about her company (alas). I am doing this because I have used Dessie's services and truly trust her advice!
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