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Travel is a part of business and it is estimated that while business travel within the USA has remained flat with only 1-in-5 business people planning to travel by air, it is on the rise in countries such as Canada, Mexico and China. In 2008 alone, more than 58 million international travellers visited the United States.

Whether you are paying for your own flight as a private business person or whether your organization is covering the expense, you should make every effort to find flight deals that help save you money. Some organizations which require their executives to travel are now capping the reimbursement rates for travel to economy class and other limitations.

If you are required to book your own air travel for business purposes, you may be familiar with using one or two websites to help you find the most competitive fare. Travel experts recommend that in order to find the best price, business travellers should be looking at no less than four websites or engaging in comparison sites to help find the best value for their travel dollar. We've put together some tips to help you book your business travel.

1. Check last minute travel websites for steep discounts on travel booked without notice. If you are flexible to travel over the weekend (or maybe even stay a few days to enjoy the destination before returning home) you can find great deals from Airlines looking to fill seats at the last minute.

2. Leave on a Wednesday whenever possible. According to experts, that is the cheapest day for you to depart and return. Since few people prefer to travel midweek, book your meetings for Thursdays or Fridays to save on Wednesday inbound and weekend returns.

3. Check websites frequently before buying. By monitoring the cost of your upcoming ticket, you can determine a good time to book based on falling rates. When you see a good fare that is lower than your monitored average, jump on it and book.

4. Fly two different airlines. The most convenient flight is a direct one and those schedules have no problem filling seats. However if you choose an itinerary operated by two different airlines the discounted ticket will more than compensate for the inconvenience of changing planes. If you pick a long enough stop-over it might be the perfect time to get lunch or dinner!

5. Enrol in frequent flyer programs. While they may seem to take some time to accumulate a free flight other rewards such as free upgrades are very useful and can also (depending on the carrier) discount your next flight.