Cheap services with proven track records

With high turnover, bankruptcies, mergers and a steady stream of new products and services, the retail travel industry is not a place where many companies reach the ripe old age of 30. And yet several such firms, including one that has reached the half-century mark, continue to offer unusual, bargain-priced wares.

* Mill-Run Tours, (212) 486-9840, has been in business for nearly 30 years and has 10 branch offices in California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas. It is one of America’s largest discounters of international airfares and is used daily by thousands of travel agents across the country.

Unlike many of its large rivals, Mill-Run also deals directly with the public. Cut-rate tickets to India are particularly popular, but it also sells tickets to European destinations, China and, to a lesser extent, the Caribbean and Latin America. It is tightly managed by its longtime chairman, Issam Sawaya, deals with large and respected airlines and provides (in my experience) top-notch phone service and very competitive rates.

* Untours, (888) 868-6871, www.untours.com, which is soon to celebrate its 30th anniversary, was the first travel firm to discover the appeal of low-cost, short-term apartment rentals in Europe. Because most apartment owners won’t lease their properties for short periods, Untours books them for an entire season and cuts up the period of the rental -- first into monthly segments and then into chunks of as few as two weeks -- for use by Americans eager to enjoy the experience of living like a resident.

To date, more than 40,000 people have discovered foreign cultures and lifestyles as “Untourists,” and it is estimated that up to a third of the firm’s clientele are repeat customers who book through the system each year.

* Servas, (212) 267-0252, www.usservas.org, is a 56-year-old, nonprofit international home-stay organization. It allows members to stay in people’s homes free of charge (though membership is $85 a year) for two or three nights (extended visits are possible) as they travel from place to place.

Servas denies that it is a budget travel service; it refers to its hosts and guests as “caring individuals” eager to advance the cause of world peace through encounters among people of many lands. Becoming a member can help you eliminate the cost of lodging by staying in any of more than 14,000 homes in 135 countries on six continents. Applicants first are interviewed in person about their philosophy of travel to screen out those who are simply looking for a cheap “crash pad”; members also are encouraged to participate in broader activities of the United Nations, of which Servas is a nongovernmental member.

* Air-Hitch, (877) 247-4482, www.air-hitch.org, is a 30-year travel veteran known for flexible, “space available” travel. In the late 1960s, it electrified the world of youth travel with ultra-low-cost international fares that weren’t guaranteed. You got the low rate if you permitted Air-Hitch to choose the date of your flight and the city to which you would fly. Occasionally, you would be unable to get on a flight to your desired area, and Air-Hitch would return your money. In more recent years, Air-Hitch has appealed to people of all ages, and it’s becoming increasingly involved in selling confirmed seats without the anxiety-causing risk.

In the summer high season, Air-Hitch offers confirmed round-trip flights between Los Angeles and Honolulu for $329, between New York and Greece for $398, and to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and Australia for advantageous rates. In other words, it’s becoming more like a standard airfare discounter.