As Spring Break and summer draw near, students may be able to find cheap flying rates at their fingertips — literally.

Some students say they have found discount rates for major airlines by searching the Internet.

Mary Immesoete, junior in graphic design, said she recently purchased a round-trip ticket/open return to London for $468. Her next lowest quote was $650.

However, Michael Audino, director of marketing and business development for the Des Moines International Airport, said a deregulation of airline ticket pricing aids in the fluctuation of a ticket’s cost.

“Although that isn’t the whole reason, it does play a big part,” Audino said. “We still live in a free-market system. The airlines simply follow the law of supply and demand.”

He said most of the high airline prices don’t affect vacation travelers, but that business travelers are hit the hardest.

“In The Des Moines Register on March 8, there was an ad for a round-trip flight to Chicago for only $118. The only rule was, there had to be a Saturday night stay, and reservations had to be made 14 days in advance,” Audino said.

The same flight for a business traveler who just walked up to the counter needing to be in Chicago the same day would cost about $750, he said.

Audino said the Des Moines International Airport has noticed a small decline in business from the 1996-1997 year, but it does not blame this loss solely on airline ticket prices.

He said providing lower fares would most likely not stimulate the ticket sales market.

Marie Puskas, consultant for Council Travel, 2526 Lincoln Way, said people think they are getting a better deal through the Internet, but a lot of times they are not.

“Many times the tickets sold over the Internet are the lowest possible prices, but these tickets are not always available,” Puskas said. “We sell only available tickets, and that is why our prices sometimes seem a little bit higher than the Internet; they are actually just tickets you can be guaranteed to receive at that price.”

Although there’s been an increase in people purchasing tickets over the Internet, she said Council Travel’s ticket sales have actually increased.

Immesoete said she searched for discount airline tickets on the World Wide Web. To her surprise, she received an e-mail the next day from a representative from the travel agency, Tripmaker.

“I decided that I might as well give them a call back, and I am glad I did. She quoted me a price over the phone and said that I would see the tickets within six or seven weeks,” Immesoete said.

Immesoete said she was skeptical in the beginning, and decided to check with her airline to confirm the reservation.

Immesoete may have found a bargain deal, but officials warn some offers are too good to be true.

Mary Kruger Eyler, president of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Iowa, said ticket shoppers should be cautious.

“The Internet is very new. We are just now starting to get a lot of questions come in about the Internet,” Eyler said. “There really is no way for someone to tell if a Web page is for real or not. My best advice would be to do your homework.”

She also advised purchasers to understand the terms of a ticket. Find out if there are refund options and investigate the business that is hosting the Web page, she said.

“It is very easy for anyone to start a Web page. They can use a lot of fancy looking advertising and the average person wouldn’t know the difference,” Eyler said.

“Make sure you check out the company thoroughly before purchasing anything,” she said.

Eyler also said to be extremely cautious in giving out credit card numbers over the Internet.

“It is to your discretion as to whether or not to give [your credit card number] out, but be careful,” she said. “Don’t give it out until you know everything you can about the company and feel as safe as possible with the company.”

Immesoete did use a credit card to pay for the ticket, but she said she gave her credit card number over the phone.