Booking an Airplane Flight?

chrisrack · 12-10-2009, 08:04 AM

I've been using Travelocity to book travel. Are the other on-line booking agents better than Travelocity?

And when is the best time to book a flight for the best price. For example, I'm trying to book a flight from Baltimore to Sarasota next Wednesday and returning Saturday. I looked at these flights 3 days ago and I could have bought a ticket for $180; today the same flight is $240. So when do I buy for the best price? Will the prices go down later this week?

kingair · 12-10-2009, 08:21 AM

I use Sidestep and kayak; then I go to the airline site and purchase.

Steve_250 · 12-10-2009, 08:32 AM

Kayak has been top-rated by many travel gurus.
I normally use jetBlue, they aren't on Kayak.
I straight to their site.

Mersiles · 12-10-2009, 09:41 AM

Take it from someone who flies >150K miles per year, the price will not go down the closer you get to the departure date. It will however go up even more.

I don't use the travel sites (Orbit, Travelocity, etc) so I can't offer any advice there but certainly try alternative airports such as Tampa and Ft. Meyers. Chances are you can get a resonable flight on Southwest from BWI to TPA. Although $240 seems really cheap to me. Hell, I stopped using my miles for personal flights when I find one cheaper than $300.

Classic25 · 12-10-2009, 09:58 AM

Fares are constantly changing. If you see one that suits you, grab it. There is no methodology. Just yield management-- supply and demand.

Tireless · 12-10-2009, 09:59 AM

I use my executive assistant...she knows where I need to go before I do.

kingair · 12-10-2009, 10:00 AM

CNBC had a good show on American and how they price tickets and hedge fuel for that purpose.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/18576787

Or just fly yourself

Mersiles · 12-10-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tireless

I use my executive assistant...she knows where I need to go before I do.

BINGO

"Just tell me when I need to leave the office to head to the airport"

Classic25 · 12-10-2009, 10:21 AM

Just for giggles, I mapped the KBWI-KSRQ route and applied southwests average cost per seat mile at .1067$ and came up with a "cost" of $187 for that round trip. $180 was a good price!

Pierless · 12-10-2009, 10:27 AM

"Was" is the key word.

next time try to buy at least 7 days in advance. there may be more breaks 14 and 30 days in advance. it all depends on the route and the airlines.

Cooper · 12-10-2009, 10:33 AM

Same as kingair: kayak.com, then the airline site for the actual purchase. For the airlines not listed on kayak, I'll check their sites.

Snapper Head · 12-10-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tireless

I use my executive assistant...she knows where I need to go before I do.

We have the same assistant

Periodically, she tells me where to go.

Big Al

Tireless · 12-10-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapper Head

We have the same assistant

Periodically, she tells me where to go.

Big Al

When I ask her to do extra stuff she quickly points out I am #1 in her book.....that's my interpretation of the finger she shows me.