Best Site for Cheap Airfares?

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:27am

i've tried travelocity and expedia. are there any other good ones?

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:29am

Cheaptickets.com and Orbitz.com and for weekend getaways, Site59.com

Posted: 11/2/05 at 8:50am

Check the airlines themselves for last minutes deals.

CAUTION: Remember that you get what you pay for. I once encountered someone who took a "cheap" flght and ended up on a 14-hour flight (through layovers and delays) one weekend, for a trip that was about a 2 hour flight.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:10am

You can sign up with the airlines to receive their fare alerts. It's worth a few minutes...

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:13am

thanks all. when i said "cheap" i meant low-cost but also low hassle. i'm not a big fan of late-night or connecting flights. i want to have my cake and eat it too!!

mmmmmm, cake.....

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:13am

If you are a student/faculty/staff member at any college or university, you can go to studentuniverse.com and register under your school e-mail to get discounted airfare. I've always had very good luck there.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:17am

Where you going RobbO and can I come?

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:17am

Robbo: essentially Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Cheaptickets all offer the same fares. I beleive three use the same search engine--Orbitz has it's own. I also then check the individual airlines to compare. THey are also usually similiar in price. Timing and a weekend stayover are key to inexpensive tickets.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:21am

thanks all. we're trying to plan our trip to rome but the devil's in the details. who will petsit? should we leave just before, on, or right after, christmas? can we book a timeshare this late in rome? has american idol peaked? will a democrat ever sleep in the white house again? how does diva keep his organ so clean? ya know, the basics.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:25am

Rome...I'm there!!!

[KMF_NYC]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:26am

Weekends are no longer the necessity they once were --

In most cases, the airline's own site will be you best price and tend to match (as SOMMS said) the fares on the bigger sites (which use SABRE as their search). The Expedia's and all also charge you a ticketing fee that the airline does not. Tehn toss in binus miles for booking online...

WOrd of caution on Proceline and Hotwire type auction sites -- if your flights are cancelled or delayed and you miss a connection, the airline has NO obligation to rebook you. I have seen it happen all too often and folks are stranded and angry.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:28am

yeah, that's what i mean. i'm willing to pay extra for non-stop flights and guarantees so the trip is not delayed or ruined by pesky details.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:30am

RobbO...just book Airitalia and be done with it...otherwise you go cheap and stop in every City before arriving...been there done that...NO more.

[JACXR71]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:31am

Try sidestep.com - it's kind of an "all-in-one" site that searches all the other discount sites at the same time, so you don't have to do a search on each website.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:32am

don't overlook calling a travel agent--or sleeping with one. They can sometimes put together some nice packages for overseas trips.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:35am

what's that? travel agents have nice packages?

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:36am

mine does!

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:40am

do you share?

[Elphaba]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:54am

sidestep.com is the best.....

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 9:55am

sidestep keeps coming up with 0 matches. strange.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 10:00am

from where are you flying?

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 11:37am

i'd also say priceline.com. I've gotten many a last-minute ticket there for way below published price.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 11:38am

i'm flying out of philly. or newark if i have to.

[peach]

Posted: 11/2/05 at 4:46pm

You will get very similar content from Expedia and Orbitz. Not that you can't find good fares, but they are usually the same as the airline's Web site, plus the processing fee. the good thing is you can compare multiple airlines on the same site.

I usually recommend going through the airline's Web site. That's where you will usually find the last minute deals. Also, as previously suggested, sign up for airlines' weekly e-mails with last minute deals. You can get some good fares on those, especially international.

Not sure if Kayak.com has international search capability, but that basically checks the available fares from the airlines' inventory.

And never hurts to call a good travel agent for air/hotel packages. Sometimes you can get a break on a package.

Have a good trip!

Posted: 11/2/05 at 6:29pm

PM me on how to become eligible to use my frequent flier miles.