I have some business trips coming up which require air travel. The only other times I have flown for business, my travel arrangements have been made for me. These upcoming trips, though, I’ll be making my own arrangements and getting reimbursed.
What do I need to know about buying airline tickets? I understand that pricing can be pretty random. I found one set of flights from here to where I am going that were about $300/RT, and another set with no obvious benefits (that is, no fewer connecting flights) for about 2 grand.
Is it better to book ahead? Are the websites that do the shopping around for you (travelocity, orbitz, etc) worth using? How do you fare-shop?
Airfare Watchdog also has good updates on flights between the US and other countries.
If you need to go from the US to India, I can tell you that finding a good fare on-line is pretty hard to do. PM me, and I’ll give you the contact info of a good travel agent. The prices travel agents quote you can differ a lot; it helps if you have someone who specializes in discount tickets to India.
For trips from the US to Latin- or Lusoamerica, try www.clubcostomar.com. They gave me rock-bottom prices for round-trip flights from the US to Cancun, Mexico, the US to Rio de Janeiro, and the US to Quito, Ecuador. Their customer service isn’t all it could be, but if you know that you don’t want to change your dates of travel, the Costamar Club is a pretty good way to go.
If your travel has nothing whatsoever to do with the US, well…I got nothin’. I’m sure another Doper could give you some helpful info, though.
Just keep in mind that some ticketing search engines will not list certain airlines (esp. discount ones like Southwest or Jetblue), so its also a good idea to visit them for their rates.
You just have to make some time to do some searching everywhere. The most recent flight I took (Continental) came out cheaper at the Continental site than at any of the discount fare sites I visit.
Always better to book ahead, of course. Especially at least either 7 or 14 days ahead. Fares will skyrocket the sooner the flight is.
Thanks, everyone. I’m actually flying within the US, and I am open to alternate airports for departure—e.g., leaving from Providence, RI rather than Logan.
If you use Firefox – I was browsing the current crop of add-ons and came across the Yapta extension. I haven’t used it (nor even installed it, as I avoid the airlines whenever possible), but thought it might be of interest. Although it does look like it’s geared more towards frequent fliers…
