Source: Peter Pae, L.A.Times ( Free Registration )

As fellow passengers at Los Angeles International Airport grumbled about soaring airfares, Gilda Chavez-Diaz flew home to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last week. The cost of the round trip? $18.

“People don’t believe me,” Chavez-Diaz said with a smile as she boarded a Spirit Airlines flight. The “ultra low cost” carrier offered a promotion Chavez-Diaz seized on after receiving an e-mail from the airline.

It wasn’t the only deal she’s found lately. In the last year, empty nesters Chavez-Diaz and her husband, Carlos, have taken six trips to locales such as the Virgin Islands and Las Vegas, never paying more than $68 each for a round-trip ticket.

With soaring fuel prices, airlines are hiking fares unlike ever before just as the peak summer travel season is set to kick off. But bargain hunters say airfare deals still abound—they’re just harder to find.

Read Full Article: Taking a different route for cheap airfares