Instead of whining about the situation, you can turn it to your advantage to get a discounted airfare. The way to go is thus- one day before your departure, phone the travel agent or airline and ask about the flight, this will show you its booking status- whether it's overbooked or not overbooked.

When flights are overbooked you should make sure you arrive at the airport 2 good hours ahead of time because this will place you at the head of the queue.

Because airlines are legally obligated to ask for volunteers before dropping passengers, you should volunteer to be dropped, but only after being given a discounted airfare. The moment you get the concession, go right ahead and invoke what most airline staff are very conversant with; rule number 240 which states that the next available flight should be yours.

By regularly checking the special offers area on the websites of airlines before booking a flight you can also find cheap airfare as these sections are often where several discounted airfare packages are located.

A third strategy you can use to get cheap airfare and turn an otherwise costly fare into a cheap one is by selecting various major airports that are close to your destination. One good example is to go for New York's JFK airport if you are dropping off finally in Montreal; even though the two cities are separated by a couple of hours drive, the money you will save is worth the trouble.