How to get a Steal on Airfare

[Aggie_Ama]

One of my best friends is getting married in Ohio in September. We really want to go but airfare is pretty costly these days. I haven't flown in a while, any tips on getting a great deal? I was trying Kayak but wondered if there are other ways.

[wackyjacky1]

You've got Jet Blue up there in Austin, right? I've found them to have the best fares around.

[Aggie_Ama]

Unfortunately they don't fly to Ohio. We are going to Columbus, Ohio.

[wackyjacky1]

Oh, poo.

I don't seem to have any luck as far as getting a steal with the discount websites (Kayak, Priceline, etc.) so I'm no help to you there.

Southwest has those super cheap "Wanna Get Away" fares, but I'm not sure how far in advance you have to book.

[indysteel]

I heard recently that the cheapest fares are generally available Tuesday through Thursday and that it's best to book four to six weeks out. Travelocity and Expedia (and I'm sure others) offer fare alert and fare tracking services that might be helpful. Also be sure to check each airlines baggage fees, as they can add up if you plan to check baggage. You'll save money if you can stick to just a carryon. If you see a fare you can live with, jump on it and then don't look back. In my experience, you can really drive yourself nuts if you keep looking at fares after you've bought your tickets. One other suggestion (although this likely won't help you at this late date) is to use one of Capital One's credit cards. Their airline points program is easy to use and has no blackout dates. I have friends who charge everything they can to earn points (and they are disciplined about paying their balance every month).

[bluebug32]

Airfarewatchdog.com has some good tips and I think you can set up price alerts through the site. I've had good luck with kayak in the past and sometimes the best fare can be found directly through the airline.

[jessmarimba]

I use fly.com to compare airlines - they seem to compare from the most sources. Though there are a few airlines whose fares they can't access. (You don't book through fly.com, it links you to whoever has the fares, so they don't make any money from it).

[Fredwina]

kayak and Fly.com do seem to be variations on the same theme. Southwest doesn't show on any of the aggregators, so you do have to look at them separately, and then figure out what works based on what you're toting (as IndySteel referenced, everyone but Southwest will charge you to check a bag)

[OakLeaf]

+1 on traveling midweek if your schedule allows, though it's usually not a big penalty to fly on the weekends. I know six weeks used to be the "sweet spot," but what I've heard more recently is just to book as soon as your plans are firm, because it only gets more expensive as time goes by.

If you're planning on bringing a lot of carryons, make sure you'll be on full-sized aircraft your whole trip. Columbus is served by a lot of commuter jets that have very little space for carryons. It's not only larger bags that will have to be gate checked, but even if you have a small bag, if you board later, all the overhead space may be full and you'll have to gate-check it. My one trip on Southwest this spring, I had to gate-check a bag and it went into regular cargo and got checked through - I've heard of people having the same experience on other airlines as well. So make sure that you have your stuff segregated between your carryons and have one that you can safely check as is, and all your valuables, essential medications, etc. in your smallest bag.

And if you have an extra few hours and want to get together, PM me.

[Possegal]

Something to consider - JetBlue does fly to Pittsburgh and it is a really easy drive to Columbus from Pittsburgh. If their fares are considerably cheaper, may be worth looking into renting a car and doing that. Just tossing it out there. Otherwise, I have no advice but much sympathy.

[OakLeaf]

The other thing is that you usually save a LOT of money by flying at ungodly hours. If you're capable of getting to an airport at 4 a.m. to fly at 5:30, and getting home at midnight on your return trip - just for example - the fare can be half or less of what it costs to fly at normal human hours. I'm not physically capable of it myself, but I sure have looked longingly at those fares.

And finally - use the travel agent sites to do your comparison shopping, play around with different schedules, etc., but make your final booking on the airline's own site. We've found out the hard way that if you can't make your own reservation the way you want it, there's a reason. The first two issues we had were with brick-and-mortar travel agents, but more recently we've had an issue with an online travel agent too. Trust me, you do NOT want to arrive at an airport in another country where you don't really speak the language, what you thought was three hours early for your flight ... to discover that the e-tickets that were reserved in your name don't match the itinerary you have from the travel agent, and that you and your spouse are booked on different flights. (Still enormously grateful to the ticket agent who spent most of those three hours on the phone to the USA and got everything straight in time for us to literally RUN for the plane.)

(Also - Pittsburgh to Columbus isn't a difficult drive, but it's over three hours ... You might could check Dayton or even Cincinnati, though. But if you do consider Cincinnati, take rush hour traffic schedules into consideration, because the airport is on the opposite side of the city from Columbus, and it could easily wind up being a four-hour drive if the traffic is bad.)

[Possegal]

(Also - Pittsburgh to Columbus isn't a difficult drive, but it's over three hours ... You might could check Dayton or even Cincinnati, though. But if you do consider Cincinnati, take rush hour traffic schedules into consideration, because the airport is on the opposite side of the city from Columbus, and it could easily wind up being a four-hour drive if the traffic is bad.)

My point was about Jet Blue. And as was stated, they don't fly into Ohio. Pittsburgh is the closest city to Columbus that she could fly to via Jet Blue. Not saying that is the answer, but that it may be worth checking out if Jet Blue really was much cheaper than other airlines.

[Owlie]

Cleveland's airport is about the same distance from Columbus as Cincinnati's. Dayton's is closer. All three are under three hours. Southwest flies into Columbus (I'm 80% sure on that) and Cleveland, if Southwest's an option.

[blue_angel]

Your airfare is going to be expensive because you're flying in and out of two non-major airports. If you could drive from Austin to a larger airport (what's closest, Houston?) that would probably bring the price down quite a bit.

[bmccasland]

I heard recently that the cheapest fares are generally available Tuesday through Thursday and that it's best to book four to six weeks out.

This is the same information that was published in the travel section of our local paper. Also to buy your tickets on a tuesday or wednesday. Apparently the day of the week you buy your tickets comes into play on the price you see, even if you want to travel on some other day of the week. Obviously monday and friday are heavy travel days due to business travelers, therefore the tickets will be more expensive.

Your airfare is going to be expensive because you're flying in and out of two non-major airports. If you could drive from Austin to a larger airport (what's closest, Houston?) that would probably bring the price down quite a bit.

When I lived in NorCal, I calculated the time and cost from flying out of my local puddle jumper airport, to the 3 hr drive to Sacramento. Long haul flights it wasn't worth it to drive to Sac. Tickets may be cheaper from a larger futher airport, but you have to figure your time + the cost of gas and parking to get there and back.