Finding the Best Airfare

This is a re-post of an article I did last year.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

Leonardo da Vinci

United Airlines plane on take-off

We’ve all been there, late at night, on the internet, looking for the best airfare. You may have heard that the airlines open up the best fares around midnight on Tuesday. Supposedly price jumps are on Friday and airlines play a wait and see game to see if other airlines will match the higher fare over the weekend. If not, the fares will drop again on Monday, and other airlines might try to start a “fare war” which will keep lowering the price on Tuesday. Usually the other airlines will match their competitors’ rates by Tuesday evening, and that is when the largest stock of cheap tickets are available. But if that happens, the lower fares will usually be pulled by Thursday to make room for the weekend price jump. Fares are almost always more expensive on the weekends.

Of course all of this is just theory and doesn’t always hold true. Shopping for airline tickets can be both confusing and frustrating – ticket prices change frequently and with seemingly no rhyme or reason. It does help if you understand how airlines price their tickets. If you have ever talked to other travelers on your flight then you know that the price you paid for your ticket can be drastically different from the price the person next to you paid. The best website I found that explains the airlines pricing is at this website: http://www.farecompare.com/ask-rick/understanding-airline-ticket-prices-why-your-seatmates-airfare-cost-more-or-less-than-yours/

They used to say that waiting till the last minute would give you the best airfare. That is certainly not true today. Most airlines have cut back on the number of flights they are doing, because they want to fly as full as possible, and today many flights are even overbooked as a result. According to some experts the best time to buy a domestic ticket today, is 6 weeks in advance. For international flights they recommend 24 weeks. As a travel agent, clients were always asking me whether they should buy a ticket at that price or whether the price might go down. I always told them it was basically a crap shoot, their guess was as good as mine. You never know what the airlines might do, and they are just as likely to go up. If you are happy with the price, then I say grab them and don't second guess yourself.

Flying Economy Class

When looking for airfare the key is to be as flexible as possible. Flying in the middle of the week is usually less expensive than the weekends. Try odd connections. If you are flying long distance and have a stop somewhere, try looking at several different possibilities. Some of the search websites will automatically pick the stop which is the most convenient, but you can key in different combinations and you may find cheaper flights that way. For instance, we were flying to Zurich a few years ago. When looking for flights most of the combinations were coming up with stops in Philadelphia or New York, but I keyed in Washington DC, and got the flight for less. Sometimes you will have to book 2 separate tickets to get the fare, one ticket from San Diego to Washington DC, and a second ticket from DC to Zurich. But if you save enough money, it can be worth it.

Recently I was looking for fares from San Diego into Buffalo, NY, and a return ticket from Boston back to San Diego. We are doing a cruise that goes from Montreal to Boston, but I had decided to fly to Buffalo first and go over to Niagara Falls for 2 days prior, then drive up to Montreal to pick up the cruise. Part of my reasoning being that flying into Montreal and out of Boston was a really expensive ticket. Everything I had priced on that was around $800 per ticket. Flying into and out of 2 American cities was much less expensive for some reason. And besides, Niagara Falls is on my list of places to see.

So I started my search for Buffalo, and found that most of the airlines arrived so late in Buffalo that it would not be practical for getting from the airport over to the falls that same day, which I wanted to do. The one exception was Southwest Airlines which had a flight that lands at 5:30 PM. I then looked at Southwest flights from Boston to San Diego. I could have gone that way, it worked, but the flight was not non-stop from Boston, and I knew that United had a non-stop, because we had flown them from Boston before. So I then checked the one way fare for United and added the one-way fare on Southwest. I came out $50 per ticket cheaper by buying 2 one-way fares on 2 different airlines, and I got the times that worked for me, which I wouldn’t have gotten with either airlines if doing a round-trip with them.

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Tip: Remember to check Southwest Airlines websites when looking for domestic flights, and some of the cheaper European companies websites (such as Ryan Air or Easy Jet). These airlines do not pay to be on the popular comparison ticket websites such as Expedia or Travelocity. The only way to book them is through their websites or by phone. But it is worth checking their fares before booking someone else.
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Ryanair plane

Did you know that there are several airlines in Europe where you can fly really cheap? They don't always use the international airports, for example, several of these airlines use Beauvais airport in Paris as opposed to Charles DeGaulle airport, which is the one most people fly into and out of. But there is transportation available to get to these airports. Ryanair and Easy Jet are the two I used most often as a travel agent. http://www.ryanair.com/en http://www.easyjet.com/EN There is sometimes a fee for luggage, and there are definite limits on size and weight, as these are smaller planes and limited on cargo space. So if you are going to use this as a way to get around Europe, be sure to pack light.

Consolidators also are a good way to go when looking for international airfares in particular. They usually have to be booked through a travel agent. Consolidators purchase tickets on flights at a cheaper rate. They actually have a contract with the airlines, and they have a block of seats which they can sell. The airlines cannot sell those seats until the consolidators release the seats they have not sold. The travel agent will call the consolidator and get a fare for the destination you are looking for, and then the agent will add a fee to that to cover their commission. If you are working with an agent on a tour or cruise, the agent may waive that fee because they are making a commission on the other portion. It never hurts to ask for the discount.

Also, there are tour companies who will sell air only packages, or air with car packages. These companies have also purchased blocks of seats on the airlines. One company that I used to work with all the time is Pleasant Holidays. They have air only packages to Hawaii, and I found that I could quite often get air fare for less through them. I had clients who had booked timeshares in Hawaii, or were going to be staying at the Military run hotels, so they only wanted airfare. Quite often I could do an air and car package for less than we could find air on its own. The client usually wanted a car anyway, and this saved them quite a bit of money. Another reason to check with your travel agent.

Some first-class seats make into beds, which are great for long trips

And of course thrown into all of this, you have to consider the fees the airlines now impose on almost everything. Luggage fees, fees for premium seats (with a few extra inches of room), fees if you want an exit row seat. And if you want a meal, that will cost you on most flights today, as will a movie on some flights. It's always good to look at those things and compare them. Southwest doesn't charge luggage fees, so something to think about when booking. And I also take into consideration flying on airlines where I have mileage. Because if I get enough mileage accumulated I can upgrade to first class, for a fee, but well worth it on long trips.

It can be frustrating finding a fare you can live with. It's always a gamble. Should I grab this fare, or will it go lower? Chances are it could go higher too. Sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and decide that you are going to commit, and once you do there is no going back. Good luck with your hunting.