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I'm a
bargain-hunter.
I spent a lot of time researching the
various engines that purport to find the cheapest
 airfares,
and I found that they're definitely not all the
same. For example: Did you know that if you
search Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, or LowestFare,
you won't see flights offered by Southwest
Airlines -- even though Southwest has some of the
best U.S. fares around? If you book on one of these
sites for a route that Southwest serves there's a
good chance you'll pay too much -- probably not
what you were expecting if you went to a site
called "Lowest Fare"!
That's why I
created this site. After I spent days
tracking down and organizing info on the cheapest
airfares, it made sense to share it so others
wouldn't have to repeat my research from scratch. I
also found that picking the right sites to search
for airfares on is only half the battle -- it's
just as important to know how to pick the right
travel dates, too
If you were to try to find all the stuff I now
list on this site on your own it would take you a
while -- but now you don't have to, since it's all
right here. So while I'm sure this site can save
you some money, I also hope it saves you some time.
Happy flying!
-- M. Bluejay,
editor
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Noise
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Reduces noise up to 15 dB, which is 20%
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Latest
fanmail:
I am booking a flight to Australia and the original
airfare estimates I was finding were pretty high. STA Travel
had no availability within when I called them direct, so it
was off to the web search. Through some finessing and using
your tips, I've started to come across cheaper fares than I
thought I could find - by being a bit flexible of course. I
wish I had known about you last year when I booked! I think
I'll be able to find a good deal thanks to this site.
Cheers!
--Kevin
Jeffcoat, May 2006
Read more fan mail
Want to recommend us?
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Aesthetic
Realism Cult
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This doesn't have anything to do with cheap
airfare, but I wanted to give a little plug for
another new site I made to document my experiences
as a former member of the Aesthetic
Realism cult. Check it out, and link to it if
you think more people ought to know about it.
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Top
10 Tips for getting the Cheapest
Airfare
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#1
Be flexible with your travel
dates.
If
you insist on traveling on specific dates you'll
pay a lot more. If you can leave or return even
a day earlier or later you'll often save you a lot
of money. Use Travelocity
to find airfares for flexible travel dates. (Click
"flexible dates".) Orbitz
also has a flexible date finder but it's not quite
as easy to use.
This
is our #1 tip for getting the best airfare!
Ignore it at your peril.
Sample
fares we just checked1:
- $444 - Insist on leaving on the 5th
and returning on the 7th
- $333 -Willing to leave on the 5th and
return on the 8th
If you're super-flexible
and don't need to book right away, then try a fare
watcher like My
Yahoo to monitor prices on a daily basis, or
sign up to get the airline's
weekly email of discounted fares for unsold
flights.
#2
Book at least two weeks ahead, preferably
three.
When
you buy early you save. Book at least two weeks
before your flight (preferably three), and at least
30 days for international flights.
Sample
fares we just checked2:
- $444 - Booked 5 days in advance
- $261 - Booked 19 days in advance
- $192 - Booked 26 days in advance
#3
Staying over Saturday no longer
necessary.
So
far as I can tell, the old conventional wisdom
of staying over a Saturday night before returning
is no longer necessary. I tried several
searches and the return flight was never any
cheaper if I set it for Sunday or later.
#4
Fly mid-week if you can.
Weekend
flights are usually more expensive because that's
when most people fly. Flying midweek usually
means a cheaper fare.
Sample
fares we just checked3:
- $412 - Leave Sunday, return next
Sunday
- $337 - Leave Monday, return next
Monday
- $337 - Leave Friday, return next
Friday
- $314 - Leave
Tue/Wed/or Thu, return next
Tue/Wed/Thu
#5
Using neighboring airports sometimes gets you
cheaper airfares.
Several times we've
saved a lot of money by flying into the Newark, NJ
airport instead of into a New York airport,
even though each was about the same distance from
our destination in New York City. Once we saved
$200 by flying into Philadelphia instead of
Atlantic City, then took a $6 train ride (1.5
hours) to Atlantic City. Travelocity
and Orbitz
can automatically search neighboring airports
for you.
Kayak
is nice by assuming you want to search
nearby airports, and giving you a nice list of the
prices for each airport it finds (rather than
dumping all the results together). It's kind of
slow, but not only is the nearby-searching feature
nice, it also found our sample fare for $12 cheaper
than Orbitz.
1,2 Austin to Las
Vegas
3,4 Austin to Chicago
All fares were round trip and checked Oct. 31, 2004
with Orbitz
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#6
Always check the round-trip price even if
you're flying one-way.
For some bizarre
reason, one-ways often cost more than
round-trip. We just checked Austin to San Jose,
and round trip was $274, while one-way was over
$700! On international flights the savings can be
even bigger. Tokyo to Las Vegas in 2007: round trip $930,
one-way $1720.
#7
Avoid busy holiday dates
Most
people leave the day before Thanksgiving and return
the Sunday after. For that reason those are the
most expensive dates to travel. You'll save money
if you travel on Thanksgiving Day itself, or if you
return the following Friday, Saturday, or
Monday.
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Expensive
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Cheaper
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Day before Thanksgiving
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Thanksgiving Day itself
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The Sunday after Thanksgiving
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The Friday, Saturday or Monday after
Thanksgiving
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Sample Thanksgiving fares we
checked4
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Price
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Wed.
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Thu.
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Fri.
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Sat.
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Sun.
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Mon.
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$498
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$495
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$417
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$363
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$363
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$350
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$348
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$340
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#8
Book multi-city trips using the special
search
If
you're traveling to City A, then to City B, then
returning to your original city, use the special
multi-city search provided by both Travelocity
and Orbitz,
instead of searching for three different one-way
fares.
#9
For U.S. to Europe, fly to London
first
Kelly
Fine of Alternative
Wedding Ceremonies writes: "We found that it
was much cheaper to fly to London on one airline
and fly from London to the Continent on another
airline. This seemed to be true no matter what city
in Europe we wanted to go to. And it was impossible
to find a cheap flight from anywhere to Bratislava,
so we found a flight to Vienna, which is only a
little over an hour by bus from Bratislava. Flying
into central and eastern Europe is much more
expensive than flying to western Europe." See
more on international
fares.
#10
Use the proper website to search for
airfare
To get the best fare you need to use the
airfare search sites tailored to your
situation, as listed below. You should also
check at least two of the sites listed because no
one site consistently gives the best fare.
For U.S. fares here's what I usually do:
- Check Sidestep
if I need specific dates
(otherwise skip this
step).
- Check Travelocity.
- Check Orbitz.
- See if Southwest
or Jet
Blue can beat any of the above.
- If not, then go directly to the airline's
website for the cheapest fare that Sidestep,
Travelocity, or Orbitz found, and see if the
airline will give a better price directly.
- Go with whichever of the above is
cheapest.
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Which
website to use
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If
your travel dates are flexible
Travelocity
or Orbitz,
along with the use of our tips
If you need cheap airfares
at the last minute
SideStep,
Hotwire,
or Travelzoo's
Net Fares, plus our tips
For all other domestic
flights (within the U.S.)
SideStep,
Hotwire,
Qixo,
or Southwest,
along with the use of our tips.
No one of these sites consistently
gives the lowest price every time. (If one of them
did, we'd just list that one and not the others.)
After you find the best fare, check directly with
the airline that you found the cheapest fare with,
to see if they'll offer you the fare for cheaper.
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For
international flights from the U.S. or Europe where
your travel times are flexible
AirTech
or AirCourier
Warning:
AirCourier sells your email address to
spammers.
International
flights
Here's more
info on International
airfare.
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More
detailed info
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Everything
above is 90% of what you need to know about getting
cheap airfare. But below is more information for
those who want it:
See the
differences between Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire,
and more.
More
info about how being flexible with your travel
dates can save you money.
How to
get cheap airfare for flights starting or ending
outside the U.S.
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This tip
won't save you any money, but it will make your
flight more comfortable: When you sit in an exit
row, you get extra legroom. See our list of exit
rows on popular airlines.
United
has the worst customer service and the worst
reputation of any major U.S. carrier. I will always
fly another airline even if I have to pay a little
more. This page details my experience with United
the last and final time I flew with them.
When
people save money by using this site they get
excited and tell me about it. Read their giddy
tirades here.
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Vegetarian
Meals
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Travelocity
says: "Meal choices vary from airline to airline,
but alternative options almost always include
vegetarian, low salt, and kosher options. In
addition, you may be able to request vegan, Hindu,
high-fiber, or gluten-free meals, among others.
Many passengers not on restricted diets order these
meals, as they are usually made with more care than
the standard fare, and are tastier. To order a
special meal, call the airline at least 24 hours
prior to the flight." [Ed. Note: Most online
booking sites let you specify vegetarian meals
online when you book, but not all of them do. If
you want to make sure you get the right kind of
meal, call the airline after you purchase your
ticket.]
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Find
which travel days are cheapest
If your travel dates are flexible, just enter
the cities you're flying between and let
Travelocity find which days are cheapest to fly.
Being flexible with your travel dates is our #1 tip
for getting the cheapest airfare.
Travelocity.com
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More
features than anybody
Flexible dates, multi-city trips, shows total
duration for multi-leg trip, lets you specify
special meals, and lets you pick the exact seat on
the plane(!). What more do you want? Recommended by
Michael Bluejay.
Orbitz.com
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Travel
Tips
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from
The
Wizard of Odds
1. Choose the Emergency Exit
Row. Unless you're with a child
ask for the emergency row aisle. You'll
get about a foot extra leg room. (Children
aren't allowed to sit in emergency
aisles.) On a separate page with list exit
rows and other seats with extra legroom
for a couple of airlines:
2. Try to get
bumped. When a flight is overbooked
the airline will ask for a volunteer to
get off the plane and catch the next one.
The airline offers compensation, such as a
travel voucher or free roundtrip within
the U.S., plus overnight accommodations if
the flight is the next day. If you're not
in a hurry, volunteer to be bumped if they
ask.
3. Bring your own
headphones. Some flights allow you to
listen to a variety of music stations, but
charge $4 for headphone rental. Bring your
own headphones and save your money.
Some airlines will require an adapter
which I think you could get at Radio
Shack.
4. Be careful about
starting a conversation with the person
next to you. They might bore you for
hours and you'll have nowhere to go.
5. Hold a lemon to
avoid motion sickness.
6. Good
airports: Vegas, Baltimore,
Pittsburgh. Bad
airports: Newark, JFK.
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If you liked my guide
to Cheap Airfare, you might like some of my other
sites:
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