As gas prices rise, more people are looking to fly to vacations or visiting relatives they haven't seen in far too long, but they want a deal to get on the plane. The good news is deals from the airlines abound these days, if you are willing to do the search and work to find it in some instances.

If you buy by the end of the day on Thursday (June 23) from either Southwest or AirTran, those companies are selling some seats on flights of up to 450 miles at $40 for each way in celebration of Southwest's 40th anniversity. Southwest and its AirTran subsidiary are charging $80 each way for flights up to 1,250 miles and $120 each way on longer flights. The deals are good for travel between Aug. 23 and November 156th and dozens of cities are involved.

If you can't decide by Thursday or if Southwest or Airtran doesn't fit your travel bill, many airlines offer fluctuating price discounts for tickets purchased online. The best option in that case is to search online with the airline you prefer to travel on days including Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. These are when the best prices are offered.

Also, it helps to shop either four to six weeks before you flight since airlines typically charge the highest prices eight to 10 weeks in advance and two to three weeks in advance. If the price you see from four to six weeks out still seems high and you have a risk-taking persona, try waiting until the week before, shopping on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to see what's offered.

But shoppers beware, if you find that deal - be prepared to buy it on the spot with a credit card out and ready since the deepest discounts usually go fast and limited seats at those prices are available.

Deals