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5 Best Ideas For Researching The Best Deal On Pakistan Flights

The internet is full of companies advertising cheap flights, but buyer beware – very often these prices are just designed to lure people in, and end up charging a far higher price once the extras have been included. Every year there are countless thousands of visitors who wish to experience the varied sights and sounds of Pakistan, and not least the religious and holy attractions in the major Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Karachi. So if you are looking to visit a country such as Pakistan, whether it’s to visit family, friends or on business, here are 5 top tips for finding the cheapest flights.

1. Seek the services of a professional, established travel agency. It’s simple for anybody to use the internet to look for low cost flights, although in the end it’s the local travel agent in your town who who has a far better grip on how to get a great deal. Local travel agents are often overlooked in our rush to use the internet for everything, however don’t forget about them as they just might surprise you with what flight deals they can find.

2. Go and find 3 different quotes from 3 companies. Many of us are familiar with price comparison websites, so it shouldn’t be an alien concept to get 3 different quotes from 3 travel agents. If they know you’ve been shopping around, they’ll be keen to get your business and may match the best offer or even try to beat it. Whichever way you look at it, airline tickets are not cheap, so it’s always worth doing your homework before reaching a decision.

3. Find an Asian travel agency. Specialist travel agents who make lots of bookings to Pakistan are generally more familiar with visas and immigration. Certainly on the subject of Visas, it is always good practice to enlist the expertise of a local travel agent. When it comes to finding a good deal on your flights and travel costs, there is often no substitute for the correct advice and an industry expert, even if it means not finding the cheapest flight option.

4. It’s advisable to speak to friends and family to get their advice and recommendations. Booking your flight ticket to Pakistan or India is no different than any other purchase in this respect. It’s always good advice to seek knowledge and advice from people who have been there before. Again, it may not result in the very cheapest flight but it may result in a seamless journey with minimal stress.

5. Don’t leave it too late. The internet age tends to make us believe we can get what we want, when we want it, but of course flights get booked up quickly, and whilst sometimes you can find a bargain flight, don’t rely on it. Your are always better advised to book your travel plans well in advance, to ensure tickets, visas, and other requirements are all in place before your travel date.

In summary, there are plenty of information sources to find the cheapest flight to Pakistan and India, but the cheapest flight is not always the best deal. In the end most people would agree that the most important thing is a well planned and well executed travel package, allowing you to arrive in Pakistan on schedule, with all your luggage, and with no major dramas!.

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Buying Inexpensive International Airfare

Some time ago international flights were considered something the filthy rich could afford. The last few years have not show much relief in these prices. In fact they seem to have risen for the most part. Is it really possible to fly internationally on a budget. Do your research to find the best deals. If you do the research you can find cheap flights to just about anywhere. This article will show you the only way to accomplish this task with easy.

Flexible means money savings. If you can, be flexible with where you fly from. Sometimes it is worth it to drive a little bit farther than you normally would. This is especially true if the extra time in the car can save you hundreds of dollars. Once in a while you can save by taking smaller flights from smaller airports connecting with larger ones. In order to gain your business these smaller airports can often offer great deals. stay open minded about where you fly from.

Look for these flights online. Many travel websites will offer you online or web only deals on international travel. It is worth your time to search out these deals. Portals like Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz and others are among the most popular. Some of the smaller portals will give the best deals because they are trying to get more people to trust them. Don’t be afraid to search for better deals. Your time will be worth it in the long run.

This is a little far fetched but you need to watch the airlines websites too. The airlines often undercut the other websites with special discount offers. Often you will find just what you are looking for just by taking advantage of these sites. Using the offered email notifications can help you find the best deal right in your inbox. You can shop for travel deals more passively this way. If you have an open schedule, this can be one of the best ways to go on vacation! Finding an affordable international flight shouldn’t be headache inducing. Once you learn where to look and what to look for, finding affordable international flights can be easy. There are always ways to save on your travels. Things like not checking your luggage and flying standby are ways to save money while traveling. Staying patient and doing the work are key to getting the best deal when traveling. If you don’t want to work to find a good deal then you will almost absolutely end up paying too much. Don’t let a drained bank account put a damper on your vacation.

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5 Top Tips For Travellers To Pakistan

It is easy to do a web search for “the Cheapest Flights To India” or “the Cheapest Flights to Pakistan”, but how do you know what represents a good deal, and are you confident in just opting for the cheapest deal?  Read our top tips for researching and choosing the best overall deal.

1. Seek out a respected and well established travel agent

It’s easy to go online and use Google to search for cheap flights, but ultimately a local travel agent who has operated for many years will understand the his business far better than you. Local travel agents are often overlooked in our quest to “Google” everything, however don’t forget about them as they just might come up trumps with what travel packages they have access to.

2. Try and get 3 different quotes

Many of us are familiar with price comparison websites, so it shouldn’t be an alien concept to get 3 different quotes from 3 travel agents. If they know you’ve been shopping around, they’ll be keen to get your business and may match the best offer or even try to beat it..  But either way, a travel package is not a cheap item, so do your research and make sure you have looked into the usual travel “extras” (baggage allowance, airport taxes, transfer costs, etc), before handing over your money.

3. Find a specialist India Travel Agency

Travel agencies who specialise in trips to India and Pakistan are much more familiar with the travel and immigration requirements than a non specialist company. Particularly when it comes to Visas, and making sure the various components of your package are taken care of. When it comes to finding a good deal on your flights and travel costs, there is often no place for sub-standard advice or an inexperienced company, even if that means not actually paying the lowerst cost.

4. Take other people’s recommendations

Making your travel arrangements to the sub continent is just the same as any major purchasing decision – you should seek the advice of friends and family. People who have made the trip before, or booked flights to Pakistan or India previously are always a good source of knowledge and recommendations. Again, it may not result in the lowest cost flight but it should provide a seamless journey with minimal stress.

5. Book ahead, and leave plenty of time!

The internet age tends to make us believe we can get what we want, and when we want it, but very often flights get fully booked well ahead of time, and whilst sometimes you can find a bargain flight, you shouldn’t rely on it. Your are always recommended to get you bookings made well in advance, to ensure tickets, visas, and other requirements are taken care of before your departure date.

In closing, there lots of places to go to find the cheapest flights to India, but remember that the cheapest ticket is not always the best deal. A very important consideration if you are planning a trip to India or Pakistan is a thoroughly planned and executed schedule, knowing you have done your homework, find the best overall deal, and to arrive at the other end with little fuss and in good humour!.

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It’s Really Possible To Get Cheap Domestic Flights

You don’t have to pay a lot to fly from one part of your country to another! Finding cheap domestic flights, though, may take some legwork. You have to do your research to make sure you get the price you want to pay. You should start off with the assumption that you can always find a better price than the one advertised by the airline. You will, however, have to go out of your way to find this lower fare. Cheap flights are not going to be handed to you automatically. Let’s look at a few ways you can find some of these elusive cheap flights.

 

In order to find the best deal you need to begin searching for the best rates as soon as you’ve decided where to travel. It is more likely that you will find a good deal if you start looking early. Even travel experts will tell you if you want the best deal shop early. Of course, the airlines want these seats filled fast so they discount the tickets early on and hike the price as the number of seats dwindle and the demand for them rises. News feeds, web alerts and email notifications are great ways to track your travel deals.

 

Stick with your favorite airline. Stick with the same airline to and from your destination. Your airline will appreciate that you are coming and going on their planes and this can save you money. This also simplifies your flight booking and offers better service. Another reason to do this is that, anymore, round trip tickets are about the same price as one way tickets so why not save yourself some hassle and just use one airline for the whole trip?

 

Your chosen flight will likely decrease in price so stay up to date on your flight before you buy wait for the right time. The best rate possible can be achieved by doing this. One of the easiest ways to get cheap domestic flights is to watch the prices on tickets for a flight that you have already booked. If you see the price for the ticket drop below the price you have already paid, you can ask for a refund. Another great way to save money is waiting to buy your ticket until the price is low enough to meet your budget. Keeping track of your chosen flights will also help keep you informed if there are any changes to the flight itself (like if it gets cancelled and you get bumped to another flight on the same airline). Finding cheap domestic flights does not have to be a major challenge. With a little common sense, you can easily find cheap flights. It works the same way that it does with any other sort of deal. Research your product. Take the time to think about your options. Weigh the pros and cons of each option. You can confidently make your purchase after following these steps. There is no reason at all why you should pay through the nose to fly somewhere within your own country. You as a passenger are a vital part of the airline’s business model, after all.

 

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Cheap Flights And How To Get Them

You may be looking for ways to get cheap flights if you are trying to watch what you spend. When we book flights normally, a lot of us tend to pay more for them then we actually need to. Here are just a few tips to ensure that in future we find the best flight deals.

 

- It is not recommended that you just go ahead and book the very first flight that you find if you want to get a good deal as there is not much chance that this will be the best price you can get. The internet is a great place to search for the best deals in cheap flights. You won’t have to do much work to find flights and there are even websites where you can compare different flight prices.

 

- It is a good idea to bear in mind, that you are going to have to pay more money at certain times of the year. You will pay more for flights when it is the peak season and on bank holiday weekends. If you want the cheapest flight prices then the best time to travel is during the off-peak seasons. You should also keep in mind that it isn’t just your outgoing flight date that is going to affect price but also the date you are coming back as well.

 

- Consider a special package that includes flights and accommodation. This can sometimes work out a bit cheaper if you buy them together.

 

- Don’t forget to use your air miles when trying to get the best deals on flights. If you are hoping to get cheaper flights then air miles really can be a great way to get a big discount although there are many people who actually fail to register for these.

 

- Sometimes when you leave your booking until the last minute, you can find some really great deals. The opposite is also true though and if you can book well in advance there can also be cheap flights to be found.

 

Probably one of the best known names in business is virgin atlantic. This is the company which was originally founded in the United Kingdom by richard branson. The company has other arms including virgin mobile usa.

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Is A AirTran/Southwest Combination Bad Or Good For Consumers?

AirTran has been bought by Southwest Airlines for $1.42 billion in a deal that merges two of the largest discount airlines within the United States. Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran enables the airline to increase to key eastern hubs and sets it up to compete with major international carriers. Travel experts were confused when it happened. The discount market for flight has just gotten smaller with the Southwest/AirTran combination. Numerous wonder if ticket prices are going to go up because of this. Unless other airlines merge, there can be a lot less competition as well. AirTran customers should be pretty happy to know that Southwest plans on keeping its policy of having no baggage fees.

Southwest Airlines within the east now

Airlines are consolidating more often which is why it isn’t that surprising that Southwest Airlines bought AirTran for $1.42 billion. There was a different merge in 2008. Delta and Northwest were merged. October 1 is when Continental and United Air carriers will merge. This means they could be the largest airline in the world. New York’s La Guardia and Washington D.C.’s Reagan National will now have Southwest in their travel hubs with this, claims USA Today. Access was given to Southwest in Atlanta which is a world’s busiest passenger airport. This is where Southwest and Delta will start to battle.

Southwest will get just a little help from the extra investment from AirTran

In the United States, there isn’t any other airline that beats out Dallas-based Southwest Airlines for carrying more passengers. In the U.S., AirTran has been rated as the eighth largest carrier of passengers. Friday’s closing prices for AirTran were shown to by $4.55. After Southwest bought them out, stock went up, reports the Associated Press, to $7.69 per AirTran share which is a 69 percent increase. Southwest has plans to pay with money. It has in available cash $670 million. $2 billion in AirTran debt is going straight to Southwest. Assuming regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2011. There can be an additional change by 2012. AirTran planes will all get a paint job to be Southwest planes.

Airline mergers: bad or good for customers?

The end of low air fares may be just around the corner with the Southwest/AirTran combination. The competition between businesses is what keeps prices low, says the Consumerist. There is not as much pressure to keep flights at low prices if there isn’t competition within the discount realm. Prices are sure to go up claims George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog. He told The Consumerist that this will happen because more companies will combine making for even less competition than before. Hobica suggests that you will find really only two things Southwest can do. It will either be able to improve its business of making cash off of low fares or raise its prices for everyone. Also, Southwest might just make it harder for other businesses to get business leading them to lower their prices overall.

More on this topic

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-09-27-southwest-airtran-merger_N.htm

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hFjJQqYUno_x04Nx3mAvf9Na1EwwD9IGC59G0

The Consumerist

consumerist.com/2010/09/what-does-southwest-buying-air-tran-mean-for-consumers.html

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Finding The Best Deal When Planning A Trip To Europe

Since Europe has so many exciting places to see and fun things to do, you want to cram as much in as possible when planning a travel there.  One major step of that is finding cheap flights.  Flying from place to place, as opposed to taking a bus or train, saves time and money, so travelers want to get the best deal when looking for flights.  This is made relatively easy by the abundance of airline companies that all want the most seats sold on their planes.

Before widespread use of the Internet, the one and only way to obtain flight information and purchase plane tickets was through a travel agent.  The agent had knowledge the average traveler did not in regards to which airline was offering discount tickets, which was cheapest at what times of the year, etc. 

The internet has brought a slow halt to the travel agencies business for brick and mortar locations and many have started websites to offer the discounts. This process makes it easy for the traveler to search all their deals and compare them with others that are online. Besides the travel agencies online travelers can go directly to the airlines and request the best fare online to avoid any booking fees.

For example, if you want to go from London to Paris, it’s a simple task to look through the online sites and find out which airline is offering the cheapest fare.  You can also search by different requirements, such as who offers the best routing or non-stop flights.  Additionally, online functionality also allows the traveler to choose their own seats or request special meals like vegetarian meals.  You can get confirmation instantly and use a credit card to pay for your travel.  You can even check-in and print out your tickets without ever having to go to the ticket counter at an airport.

Trip planner websites are the most popular with internet travelers. These sites allow you to find your hotel, flight and even rental car while booking your trip. You can create a whole vacation package by adding on any activities you will be interested in and receiving a discounted ticket price by purchasing them before arriving. You can sort trips by price, date and even class. The trip can be easily compared to other sites offering the similar packages online.

deals on plane tickets and hotel reservations, so they turn to trip planner sites.

There are also bidding sites that allow users to bid on trip packages.  The highest bidder wins the trip for the amount of the bid.  It can be a great way to get a good deal, but there is no guarantee of winning, and the trip is limited to specific dates.  Also, if the bidding goes on for a long time, the price of the tickets may go up, which would require the winner to pay even more.

Purchasing tickets directly through the airline may seem best for getting the best deal, but another airline may have even cheaper tickets.  If the traveler does not check all the sites, they will never know, and that would be quite time-consuming.  Also, purchasing plane tickets and hotel reservations and everything else separately can make the cost add up quickly.  So, a trip planner website that offers package deals and discounts might be the better choice.  But there are travelers otherwise known as tourists, and travelers who prefer the term”adventurer”, and the choice to do as they please without any sort of schedule.

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Feds Inflict Far Less Pain on Continental and United Than Attempted with the US Airways/Delta Slot Swap

In the immortal words of Dennis Hopper (rest in peace, you crazy bastard) . . . pop quiz, hotshot. Let’s say that you’ve been presented three deals impacting the most dominant airline at a highly-congested airport. You can approve one. Which would it be? Here’s what the airport will look like after the deal is approved:

Which Deal to Approve

You’re probably thinking that B looks best, and there’s no chance anyone is going to pick deal A, right? But that’s exactly what’s just happened now that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has given its approval to United and Continental to merge. All Continental has to do is take United’s 18 daily flights and give those slots (or equivalent) to Southwest. Done deal. Those other two deals? Yeah, that would be the rejected slot swap between Delta and US Airways in Washington (C) and New York (B).

I know, I know. These are totally different things and the approvals came from different branches of government. True, but it also shows how screwy it can be dealing with the feds. I should be clear here. I think the Continental and United deal should be approved. I just think the slot swap should have been approved as well.

Let’s start with the Continental/United deal. Apparently, the Department of Justice (which tends to be more strict than the Department of Transportation) had no concerns about this deal outside of Newark. Newark, of course, is a highly-congested airport with no slots available. So Continental agreed to permanently lease 18 slot pairs (the same number of flights United operates today) to Southwest. In other words, United gives up its slots to Southwest and everything else is fine. Here’s the state of the airport after this deal.

Newark Airport Hub Concentration

I’m sure Southwest is thrilled to be getting in there, but it’s still a pretty small number of flights in the scheme of things. And of course, everyone else is still frozen out for now. Contrast that with the slot swap deal. First, here’s the Washington/National chart had the deal been allowed to go through.

Washington National Hub Concentration

Here you can see an airport with more balance and greater low cost carrier penetration than Newark, but that’s nothing compared to LaGuardia.

LaGuardia Hub Concentration

When compared to National, there’s a greater transfer of slots here, but the dominant carrier would still have held a smaller position than at the other airport. Note the even higher LCC penetration of 12.7%. That’s more than double where Newark will be after Southwest gets its 18 slot pairs. So what gives?

Well it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on when you’re dealing with political bodies. Making sense is never the highest priority. But in this case, I would assume it’s simply an issue of looking at current versus potential scenarios. Continental won’t grow in Newark with this transaction while Delta and US Airways would have grown at LaGuardia and National respectively in that deal. Really, that shouldn’t be the issue here.

If the feds want to act like they’re sticking up for the consumer, they have the ability to hold airlines over a barrel. The Department of Justice chose not to do that with Continental and United while the Federal Aviation Administration has apparently gone the opposite route with the slot swap. Go figure. One thing we do know is the feds do seem to love Southwest these days.

You’ll remember that Southwest voiced a large number of objections when it came to the slot swap. The feds came back and agreed with the airline. Remember, Southwest actually said that open auctions were the best outcome. Now it’s gone and done a back-room deal. Not bad for Southwest, and certainly not bad for Continental and United. Then again, it probably just frustrates Delta and US Airways even more. Or maybe not.

Maybe this suggests that the better path for US Airways is to get bought (as they’ve been saying for some time anyway). Then it won’t need to get an FAA waiver to give its LaGuardia slots to another airline. It’ll be that other airline, so the FAA won’t get to ruin the party. If this helps build up US Airways’ efforts to get bought, then that’s good news for the airline.

Never a dull moment inside the Beltway, that’s for sure.

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Delta’s Growth in Washington Smells Fishy

Delta announced a big increase in flights in New York and Washington this week, and I’m having trouble figuring out how they’re making this happen. Something doesn’t smell quite right, especially in Washington, but I can’t get a straight answer on this. One thing does seem to be clear. The slot Delta Washington Monumentswap would have been better for the consumer.

Delta is adding flights in New York, but that’s not a surprise. It’s the increase at Washington/National that has me perplexed. As we all know by now, Delta and US Airways were trying to arrange a slot swap where Delta would give most of its slots to US Airways at National in exchange for US Airways slots at LaGuardia. That was shot down, and now the airlines are fighting the feds in court for permission. You would think that Delta would stick with the status quo pending the court outcome (even if it is a long way away), but that’s not the case. Delta will be adding 27 daily flights to nine cities from National while only killing off service to one city.

Which cities? Here’s the list:

Destination From National Daily Frequency Change
Boston 7 -> 12x
Columbus 0 -> 3x
Hartford 0 -> 3x
Huntsville 2x -> 0
Indianapolis 2 -> 3x
Jacksonville 0 -> 3x
Orlando 0 -> 4x
Miami 0 -> 2x
St Louis 0 -> 3x
Tampa 0 -> 2x

All these changes happen on October 31, but where the heck is the net increase of 25 slots coming from each way? Delta is, as usual, being tight-lipped about the whole thing, but I did get spokesperson Trebor Banstetter to say:

Our slot portfolio at [National] includes slots that had been subleased to other airlines and are now available for Delta’s use, which is how we’re able to add the additional flights without making reductions other than [Huntsville].

Hmm, the plot thickens. Now, who would have been leasing a big chunk of slots from Delta? Trebor wouldn’t tell me, but come on. How many options are there? I mean, it has to be US Airways, right? Nobody else has that big of a chunk of slots that it would be able to hand back and still maintain a viable operation. Delta must have had these slots leased out to US Airways on a longer term deal, and now Delta wants them back. That’s very interesting if true. It means that besides not getting the rest of Delta’s slots that it was giving away in the deal, US Airways may have lost even more slots than that.

This gets even more interesting when looking at planned service changes. I tried to see if US Airways was cutting flights, and I found some. US Airways had previously said that it would begin flying from National to Ottawa, Montreal, Tallahassee, and Birmingham in October. I no longer see those anywhere in the schedule. That would account for some of the slots. I find myself wondering where the rest are coming from.

The strange thing is that these flights were announced fairly recently. So either US Airways was counting on the slot swap going through or it was expecting to be able to use the existing leased slots for that purpose. But US Airways isn’t talking about this either. I suppose I’m not surprised. It probably wouldn’t be something that US Airways would want to publicize. Delta’s the one who blew this up into a big announcement.

One thing that does seem clear is that by killing the slot swap, the feds have made things worse for Washington fliers. No low cost carriers are coming in to the market (other than JetBlue via its separate American swap), and instead, Delta is just putting slots on competitive routes.

Delta is not starting service on any routes that are unserved today. These all at least have one nonstop airline and some have two or even three without Delta in the mix. Most of the routes overlap with US Airways. It’s almost as if Delta is now trying to pick a fight. Meanwhile, cities like Tallahassee and Birmingham will continue to only have connections now that US Airways seems to have pulled the flights. Those towns must be really angry.

There’s still a lot more to this story. What is the deal with these leases? Why is Delta now somehow thinking that it’ll be a big player in Washington? What’s the end game? Could this just be a political ploy to add service to key senatorial markets? I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface on this one.

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Good News, Bad News for British Airways as Antitrust Immunity Approved and Flight Attendants Reject Offer

The management team at British Airways must be doing their best impression of a manic depressive this week as they swing from great news to crappy news. The great news? The airline received final approval for antitrust immunity with American. The crappy news? The flight attendants have once again rejected BA’s offer. Unbelievable.

The flight attendant deal British Airways Happy and Sadis actually the one that has me shaking my head the most. These guys are absolutely insane. After BA put out an improved final offer, it was thought that the deal might have had a chance. It didn’t even get close.

There are about 11,000 union members and not even half voted. In fact, only 5,105 voted, two-thirds of which voted no. You would think that a vote on a contract that has resulted in a lot of strikes and tons of losses for the airline would get a bit more turnout than a mere 50% That’s just downright pathetic. It’s even more surprising since there’s a good chance that these flight attendants will end up out of a job once this is all said and done. I’m not sure what the flight attendants think they’re going to get out of this, but they might want to consider the likelihood that the only thing they’ll get is a pink slip.

But let’s not focus on all the idiocy. Instead, let’s talk about the good news. British Airways and American found themselves leaders of a shiny new joint venture with antitrust immunity yesterday. After getting European Union approval earlier this week, the Department of Transportation gave its final blessing. It’s now a done deal. American and British Airways will be able to compete on equal footing with the Lufthansa/United-led Atlantic Plus Plus venture as well as the Delta/Air France/KLM deal. If those two groups are able to operate with antitrust immunity, so should the combined BA and AA-led venture.

So now we have a much strengthened oneworld alliance. This will ultimately mean that BA Executive Club members will be able to earn miles on American flights between the US and the UK. American AAdvantage members will be able to earn miles on British Airways flights between the UK and the US as well . . . assuming BA’s flight attendants don’t ground the airline again.

Damn, I just have to keep coming back to the negative, don’t I? The flight attendants aren’t likely to strike again until after the busy summer season, but that problem will be back.

If only BA could take medication to temper the problem.

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