RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
  • Agents
  • Brokers
  • Teams
  • Marketing
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • More
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • Consumer
    • National
    • Our Editors
Join Premier
Sign In
RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
RISMedia
No Result
View All Result

How to Find the Best Airfares in a Travel Jungle

Home Consumer
January 15, 2008
Reading Time: 4 mins read

0116homespunweb.jpgRISMEDIA, Jan. 16, 2008-(MCT)-What’s your trick for finding low airfares? Do you scour the online discount fare finders first? Book Web-only specials directly from a carrier’s site well in advance? Or gamble by naming your price for extra savings through Priceline.com?

With airfares rising as carriers grapple with sky-high fuel prices, bargain hunters have even more incentive to search for deals online.

Prices for domestic tickets are the highest since FareCompare.com began tracking them over three years ago, said Rick Seaney, the company’s CEO.

“You have to be more pro-active about when you’re going to fly,” he said. “There’s really not many last-minute deals anymore.”

As legacy airlines continue to cut capacity, in many cases replacing large planes with regional jets, demand for the shrinking number of available seats is driving fares up — a trend that will continue this year, according to an American Express forecast. Even discount carriers, which have grown exponentially in recent years, have scaled back growth.

So do your homework.

Among the maze of discount airfare search sites that have sprouted on the Internet, a smart first stop is Farecast.com, which helps travelers gauge the best time to buy. Unlike standard travel sites, Farecast.com plugs historic pricing data into models developed by a computer scientist to predict whether fares to your destination will rise or fall. It is accurate just under 75% of the time, according to a recent audit performed for the company.

You can sign up for e-mail alerts and then pounce on any fare drop — which often lasts less than 48 hours, Farecast said.

Kayak.com is another top airfare aggregator, which means it searches under one roof hundreds of travel sites, including traditional discount providers such as Expedia.com, Orbitz.com or Cheaptickets.com. You’ll find Kayak is one of the most useful tools out there. And it’s merging with rival SideStep.com, another fancy “meta-search” discount provider.

While online consolidators like Expedia let you directly purchase tickets from them, Kayak and SideStep only ferret out the best rates for you. But both are fee-free, user-friendly and connect you straight to your chosen airline or discount site posting the cheapest fares.

“You get an idea of what fares are out there,” airline travel expert Terry Trippler said of these aggregators. “When you get what you consider is a fair price, then buy it.”

Travelers flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport shouldn’t forget that Southwest Airlines is king there. More than half of all BWI passengers fly Southwest, yet the discount carrier doesn’t list its fares on any sites but its own.

Southwest, which has 172 daily departures from BWI, just released its schedule through August 3. If you want to book Southwest for summer travel, remember — it’s first come, first served to get the best Web-only fares.

You can still wager to name your own price for round-trip flights auctioned off through Priceline.com. But you can’t choose the airline or departure times, and nonstop trips aren’t guaranteed. (Priceline dropped its $5 booking fee in November.)

Flexible travel dates also can mean savings.

For most airlines, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the slowest days, so they’re the best days to fly if you want to lock in low fares, said Tom Parsons, founder of BestFares.com. Travel on Fridays and Sundays or Monday mornings — which many of us have to do — and you’ll pay more.

“If you don’t have to fly when the families are traveling, you can walk away with the best bargains,” Parsons advised. “Just be flexible, flexible, flexible.”

Also, know when to search airlines’ fares, said FareCompare.com’s Seaney.

Airlines file updates of their fare schedules three times a day: 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and at 5 p.m. on weekends, Seaney said. If you’re shopping for tickets, book them before Thursday evening, when many fare increases go into effect for the ensuing week, he said.

Last-minute tickets tend to be least expensive Wednesday mornings, according to Consumer Reports. That’s when airlines try to fill unsold seats on flights for the next week to 10 days.

Longtime consolidator Bestfares.com, which negotiates with airlines and directly sells tickets for them, offers such spur-of-the- moment getaway packages that can be booked just hours and up to three weeks before you depart, Parsons said. Members who pay the travel agency’s $60 annual fee receive extra savings. And Parsons said his site is less opaque than Priceline, because it allows you to choose your flight times and airline.

Heading somewhere warm for a spring break? Buy your tickets now. Prices will go up as more seats for popular destinations are booked. Most of the deals to Florida destinations have already been gobbled up, Parsons said.

Come February and March, be on the lookout for early-bird specials to Europe. With the new “open skies” agreement signed between the U.S. and Europe kicking in March 28, carriers should add more trans-Atlantic flights to their schedules.

Of course it’s cheapest to fly to Europe during winter, in the off-season.

One trick if you want to go to multiple destinations: get a bargain fare for the trans-Atlantic leg, then use European discount airlines to travel within the continent. Flycheapo.com tracks deals from low-cost carriers there. Seaney’s Web site, FareCompare.com, is also known for locating some of the best international deals.

Leisure travelers should be able to continue to lock-in deals in 2008, paid for by steeper increases for business travelers with more discretionary income, Parsons said.

“It’s the business travelers we have to thank because they’re going to subsidize our cheaper tickets,” he said.

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

ShareTweetShare
Paige

Paige

As RISMedia’s Managing Editor, Paige Tepping oversees the monthly editorial and layout for Real Estate magazine, working with clients to bring their stories to life. She also contributes to both the writing and editing of the magazine’s content. Paige has been with RISMedia since 2007.

Related Posts

What to Know About Working With a REALTOR®
Agents

What to Know About Working With a REALTOR®

September 23, 2022
Pros and Cons of an FHA 203k Loan: What You Should Know
Agents

Pros and Cons of an FHA 203k Loan: What You Should Know

September 16, 2022
Mortgage Rates Exceed 6% for the First Time Since 2008
Agents

Mortgage Rates Exceed 6% for the First Time Since 2008

September 15, 2022
U.S. Home Equity Increases Again in Q2 2022
Agents

U.S. Home Equity Increases Again in Q2 2022

September 12, 2022
Inflation (Finally) Dips, Housing Still a Concern
Agents

Inflation (Finally) Dips, Housing Still a Concern

August 11, 2022
Finally, a Pause in Mortgage Rate Hikes
Agents

Finally, a Pause in Mortgage Rate Hikes

June 30, 2022
Tip of the Day

How to Debunk 4 FSBO Myths

For anyone considering taking on the job of selling their own home, you know that your skills will result in... Read more.

Business Tip of the Day provided by

Recent Posts

  • Great Spaces: A ‘Golden’ Opportunity on Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway
  • Jobs Report Shows Increase of 517,000 in January; Unemployment Decreases to 3.4%
  • 10 Cities That Promote a Minimalist Lifestyle

Categories

  • Spotlights
  • Best Practices
  • Advice
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Social Media

The Most Important Real Estate News & Events

Click below to receive the latest real estate news and events directly to your inbox.

Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

About Blog Our Products Our Team Contact Advertise/Sponsor Media Kit Email Whitelist Terms & Policies ACE Marketing Technologies LLC

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • News
    • Agents
    • Brokers
    • Teams
    • Consumer
    • Marketing
    • Coaching
    • Technology
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • National
    • Our Editors
  • Publications
    • Real Estate Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Custom Covers
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Podcasts
    • Event Coverage
  • Education
    • Get Licensed
    • REALTOR® Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Luxury Designation
    • Real Estate Tools
  • Newsmakers
    • 2023 Newsmakers
    • 2022 Newsmakers
    • 2021 Newsmakers
    • 2020 Newsmakers
    • 2019 Newsmakers
  • Power Broker
    • 2022 Power Broker
    • 2021 Power Broker
    • 2020 Power Broker
    • 2019 Power Broker
  • Join Premier
  • Sign In

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

X