Flying cheap. Really.
March 20, 2004 11:09 PM Subscribe
How cheaply can I fly? Has the internet brought us "last minute deals" or are they just travel agent scams?
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
I got a flight to Amsterdam for £5 last year, but then I had to buy £17 airport tax on top, so I guess there is a limit.
posted by Orange Goblin at 3:11 AM on March 21, 2004
posted by Orange Goblin at 3:11 AM on March 21, 2004
well , i'd love to hear how people navigate all those travel sites to find cheap flights its a mystery to me , does anyone know any good sites ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:40 AM on March 21, 2004
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:40 AM on March 21, 2004
We use Cheaptickets and had good results. My son has flown round trip from Alabama to here (North Carolina) for less than 200 bucks. Two different times.
You just have to be patient and keep checking.
posted by konolia at 5:19 AM on March 21, 2004
You just have to be patient and keep checking.
posted by konolia at 5:19 AM on March 21, 2004
So...
Any good scripts that poll these sights and look for a specific price point, then email you? Because that would be cool.
posted by mecran01 at 6:41 AM on March 21, 2004
Any good scripts that poll these sights and look for a specific price point, then email you? Because that would be cool.
posted by mecran01 at 6:41 AM on March 21, 2004
Depends on where you're going and your nearest airport. I get an email from American weekly with its last minute deals. I went from DFW to Ontario, CA for $129 r/t. Went from DFW to Cabo San Lucas, MX for $199 r/t. The catch is you don't know until a few days before you leave. I got really lucky with the Cabo trip. Also, you have to be flexible on the airports -- going to Ontario vs. LAX, etc.
Like Keyser suggests, making reservations way in advance on airlines like Southwest can save $.
In Europe I got from London to Brussels for £14 including tax. When I went from Austin to Europe I found flying into Brussels was much cheaper than going into London, Paris or Amsterdam.
posted by birdherder at 8:33 AM on March 21, 2004
Like Keyser suggests, making reservations way in advance on airlines like Southwest can save $.
In Europe I got from London to Brussels for £14 including tax. When I went from Austin to Europe I found flying into Brussels was much cheaper than going into London, Paris or Amsterdam.
posted by birdherder at 8:33 AM on March 21, 2004
The Smarter Living search is real and not a scam. The USA Today interface might be a little better.
The other major list is the Best Fares Internet Only Specials List (not their "last minute deals" list, which include hotels trying to sell their weekend inventory). Click on "This Week's Major Airline Weekend Internet Discounts".
posted by calwatch at 12:22 PM on March 21, 2004
The other major list is the Best Fares Internet Only Specials List (not their "last minute deals" list, which include hotels trying to sell their weekend inventory). Click on "This Week's Major Airline Weekend Internet Discounts".
posted by calwatch at 12:22 PM on March 21, 2004
sgt.serenity: I'm pretty sure there are no websites which check on all the no frills airlines in the UK, something to do with them not selling through agents I think. Thus the best bet is to have an idea of which no-frills airlines fly from the airports which you want to travel from, decent airport websites should list the companies which fly from them and they can be googled easily. For other airlines try ebookers.com which gives the national carriers from most british airports, I'd advise that once you've found the best option there you then go directly to the airlines page where you can usually save yourself a tenner or more by buying direct, though this is not always the case (I recently saved £150 by using ebookers over the klm website and the travel management people we normally deal with).
posted by biffa at 1:25 PM on March 21, 2004
posted by biffa at 1:25 PM on March 21, 2004
I can give lots of longhaul international scheduled flight buying advice. I don't know jack about charters, apart from the fact that at the end of the day, the large tour operators are more likely to lose money for each empty seat, hence they are the best source for last minute deals.
Airlines calculate their income by loading (how many passengers have paid z amount for a seat). Once x number of seats are filled at z price, the rest is profit. The plane has to go from X - Y, so that it can then travel Y - X. That charter plane isn't necessarily going back after you've got off it, hence the need to maximise bums on seats, hence last minute deals.
The best tip I can give you to get cheap longhaul flights is, get an ISIC card and then call a student travel firm. Speaking to an experienced agent who uses Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan (all industry standard booking engines) repeatedly every working day is going to be a pretty good source of knowledge. However, forewarned is forearmed and here are a few tips to use to get the best out of a travel consultant.
The key thing to appreciate is that, on the whole, the airline industry have got consumers sussed. They know when you want to travel and adjust their prices accordingly. Alas, no computer can tell you this as you book online.
1 Day/time of travel
Essentially, it works a bit like this:
Want to fly after work on a 7.00 pm Friday, come 5.00pm Sunday? That'll cost you that there arm and one of those there legs.
Wanna go 5.23am Wednesday, come back Tuesday 2.30 am? Well, We'll let you do that for them there peanuts...
2 Length of stay
As long as you have a 7 day stay, or a Saturday, this is leisure travel. No weekend stay? It must be business. You'll have to pay a full economy or Business class fare. As far as I know, there are no tickets valid for more than 12 months. This may have changed.
3 Time of year
Seasons for airlines do not equate directly to "the four seasons". There are four seasons for most airlines, High, low, high shoulder and low shoulder but the weird thing is that they are not solely based on the climate at your destination.
For example, travel to Australia from the UK is expensive in August. This is midwinter, low season Australian tourism. However, the airlines figured out a while ago that they can make a packet over the easter, summer and winter school holidays. All destinations go up in price significantly at the start of the holidays. The best thing to do is to go the week before a school holiday starts, and return a week before it ends.
4 Other bits and bobs.
The cost of a flight is defined by what season the date of departure falls in. The cheapest time of year for travel (ex UK) are usually late March and late November. Its worth bearing in mind that the airlines know this too and launch all kinds of ridiculous offers at this time of year (LHR-EWR for £120 including tax with Virgin is one of my best finds ever and was a November deal a couple of years back).
So, my tip is, look around a bit, bear these factors in mind, then call or go to a travel agents....
Unless, if you see a great deal on a reputable travel company's site and can get all the way to entering your cc details, BOOK IT THERE AND THEN. Why shop around to see if you can save another $10. You may have just "held" the last seats. When you go elsewhere, they are unlikely to be available as they may not have been re-relased back to the booking engine.
posted by davehat at 3:48 AM on March 22, 2004
Airlines calculate their income by loading (how many passengers have paid z amount for a seat). Once x number of seats are filled at z price, the rest is profit. The plane has to go from X - Y, so that it can then travel Y - X. That charter plane isn't necessarily going back after you've got off it, hence the need to maximise bums on seats, hence last minute deals.
The best tip I can give you to get cheap longhaul flights is, get an ISIC card and then call a student travel firm. Speaking to an experienced agent who uses Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan (all industry standard booking engines) repeatedly every working day is going to be a pretty good source of knowledge. However, forewarned is forearmed and here are a few tips to use to get the best out of a travel consultant.
The key thing to appreciate is that, on the whole, the airline industry have got consumers sussed. They know when you want to travel and adjust their prices accordingly. Alas, no computer can tell you this as you book online.
1 Day/time of travel
Essentially, it works a bit like this:
Want to fly after work on a 7.00 pm Friday, come 5.00pm Sunday? That'll cost you that there arm and one of those there legs.
Wanna go 5.23am Wednesday, come back Tuesday 2.30 am? Well, We'll let you do that for them there peanuts...
2 Length of stay
As long as you have a 7 day stay, or a Saturday, this is leisure travel. No weekend stay? It must be business. You'll have to pay a full economy or Business class fare. As far as I know, there are no tickets valid for more than 12 months. This may have changed.
3 Time of year
Seasons for airlines do not equate directly to "the four seasons". There are four seasons for most airlines, High, low, high shoulder and low shoulder but the weird thing is that they are not solely based on the climate at your destination.
For example, travel to Australia from the UK is expensive in August. This is midwinter, low season Australian tourism. However, the airlines figured out a while ago that they can make a packet over the easter, summer and winter school holidays. All destinations go up in price significantly at the start of the holidays. The best thing to do is to go the week before a school holiday starts, and return a week before it ends.
4 Other bits and bobs.
The cost of a flight is defined by what season the date of departure falls in. The cheapest time of year for travel (ex UK) are usually late March and late November. Its worth bearing in mind that the airlines know this too and launch all kinds of ridiculous offers at this time of year (LHR-EWR for £120 including tax with Virgin is one of my best finds ever and was a November deal a couple of years back).
So, my tip is, look around a bit, bear these factors in mind, then call or go to a travel agents....
Unless, if you see a great deal on a reputable travel company's site and can get all the way to entering your cc details, BOOK IT THERE AND THEN. Why shop around to see if you can save another $10. You may have just "held" the last seats. When you go elsewhere, they are unlikely to be available as they may not have been re-relased back to the booking engine.
posted by davehat at 3:48 AM on March 22, 2004
To add to davehat's excellent advice:
Keep an eye out on news here
The motherload of airfare booking engines
The above have a definite North America to Europe slant but not to the point of exclusion.
posted by romakimmy at 10:55 AM on March 22, 2004
Keep an eye out on news here
The motherload of airfare booking engines
The above have a definite North America to Europe slant but not to the point of exclusion.
posted by romakimmy at 10:55 AM on March 22, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Keyser Soze at 2:28 AM on March 21, 2004