How to get the flight you WANT vs. what the corporate agent tries to book for you.

Use any combination of the following, and you can do what many employees already accomplish without getting busted. This assumes you have to book via the agency and not on your own.

1 - Pick a time of the day to fly when you know the competition will not have any flights. Know their schedules.

2 - Give exact flight numbers and times to the agent making their life easier. When it is easy for them, they can be flexible. Don't be Mr Bigshot and ask for mid day and then balk when the times do not make sense and make them change the flight a few times.

3 - Depending on where you fly, and with multiple cities, pick the right city to get the airline and fare you want. And as a bonus, sometimes you can buy a ticket for one city, but fly into the other after YOU change the ticket later.

4 - Be aware of when the competition increases their fares so that you are eliminate some of the cheaper ones. At 3,7 or 14 days out.

5 - Some companies have some leeway on non-refundable vs refundale fares, take advantage of that whenever you can. Either via request, or booking at such time that you avoid having to buy the cheap no change no upgrade fares.

6 - Quite often employees wait until a day or two before the flight to book it, meaning the discount fares are gone. Oh well. And if you check the competition, they might be sold out.

7 - When you make flight changes that require little or no extra cost, call the airline directly. Do not use the agency. You really do not need to.

8 - If you own your own business, ignore all the above.