What sites do you use to find low airfare?

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

When searching for low airfare I usually start with Orbitz as a baseline, then hit the usuals, Expedia, Travelocity, Lowest fares...I then try the airline websites to see what the prices are. I don't think there is a a site that I have found to be consistently low, probably because the different markets that each site serves.

I have tried:
Air Gorilla- pretty good
QIXO- not bad, mixes airlines, but prices aren't bad
Sidestep- okay, i haven't checked them in a while due to decreased airline search

Do you have any other sites that help in finding low fares?

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

My top two are www.kayak.com and www.travelzoo.com

[hudson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hudson]

I like www.kayak.com using their 'fare compare' and 'buzz alerts'

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Mainly Yahoo Travel, but it often pays to shop around.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

www.mobissimo.com

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

I drill fares mainly on two sites:

http://www.farecompare.com/

http://www.expertflyer.com/

Once fare code basis are in hand, I move to ITA to search routings/seat availability..

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego

Then it's off to the airline sites to book the tickets. I predominately use multi-city search parameters to maximize mileage and segments.

The mainstream booking engines see historical data, whereas I prefer forward-looking data and real-time GDS feeds. This is what allows me to peruse fare buckets as they become available to the GDS, but before they propagate to the wider booking CRS.

Most of my airfare postings here reflect those nuances. You will often see fares posted which don't as of yet exist to be booked, but will

And to think I'm just a neophyte mileage runner.....

Pat

[calgal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close calgal]

I have been relying on itasoftware.com for fare searches, but was able to book my parents JFK-SFO tix on american airlines for $40 each less than what was showing on itasoftware. After booking completed, I went back to itasoftware and that site was still showing $378 each when I got them for $338. So I guess it was a glitch since itasoftware is supposed to be real-time I think.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

ITA sees the same historical data many of the other booking sites do. Orbitz uses ITA to power its booking engine.

If you know what to look for, you will see the lowest fares first on the airline web sites. I'm not including consolidator fares in this assertion, as they are a totally different animal. I'm speaking strictly about published fares.

I recently did 4 transcon MR's on UA, ex-FAT and ex-MOD, including JFK, SFO and LAX, all on UA's premium service non-stops, and all for under 270.00 r/t (each). I got almost 100K RDM's out of that deal (just checked, actually ~115K ) Those fares largely never made it to the wider CRS as the buckets got filled before they were published. On UA, if you see a T or L fare, don't expect it to be around for long, generally time measured in minutes to hours...

I also went to Australia during that same period for 658.00 for one day and to Japan for 550.00, all on fares which were largely unseen. I'm currently watching Europe fares for this November. If I can get west coast to Dublin or Manchester for 460.00 like I did this spring, I'll be having turkey in the UK

Just to re-iterate. ITA is an excellent site to put together routings and specific flights for use elsewhere, but it doesn't always show the lowest prices. I've found that booking airfares is almost akin to alchemy, where one takes many disassociated factoids and bits of information and melds them into an effective strategy. It's as much art as it is science, IMO.

Have fun!

Pat

[urple2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close urple2]

i LUV Southwest airlines site. Am i in the right line? (A,B,C)
Then everyone says Mooooo, as we enter the cattle shute.

___

Bill

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I usually use Sidestep first to get an idea of the lowest fares and who flies where. I then go to the individual airline sites. I have never found a travel site that will beat what I can get on-line from the airline's site.

Sidestep uses Orbitz, and several other travel sites when searching for the lowest fares.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Does US Airways refund difference if fares go down?

I'm aware that several airlines will refund the cost of the airfare if a fare goes down - usually in the form of a travel voucher. Is US Airways one of these airlines? I'm looking for a fare for July to Scotland and while the fares are high, US Airways beats some of the other fares I'm seeing by a fair bit. I'd like to grab it now, although I'm afraid that when the date gets closer, the fares will drop even more.

Guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Sue

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

ITA sees the same historical data many of the other booking sites do. Orbitz uses ITA to power its booking engine.

If you know what to look for, you will see the lowest fares first on the airline web sites. I'm not including consolidator fares in this assertion, as they are a totally different animal. I'm speaking strictly about published fares.

I recently did 4 transcon MR's on UA, ex-FAT and ex-MOD, including JFK, SFO and LAX, all on UA's premium service non-stops, and all for under 270.00 r/t (each). I got almost 100K RDM's out of that deal (just checked, actually ~115K ) Those fares largely never made it to the wider CRS as the buckets got filled before they were published. On UA, if you see a T or L fare, don't expect it to be around for long, generally time measured in minutes to hours...

I also went to Australia during that same period for 658.00 for one day and to Japan for 550.00, all on fares which were largely unseen. I'm currently watching Europe fares for this November. If I can get west coast to Dublin or Manchester for 460.00 like I did this spring, I'll be having turkey in the UK

Just to re-iterate. ITA is an excellent site to put together routings and specific flights for use elsewhere, but it doesn't always show the lowest prices. I've found that booking airfares is almost akin to alchemy, where one takes many disassociated factoids and bits of information and melds them into an effective strategy. It's as much art as it is science, IMO.

Have fun!

Pat

Hi Pat,
You say "if you know what to look for"....what do you look for? Thanks.
Connie

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I'm aware that several airlines will refund the cost of the airfare if a fare goes down - usually in the form of a travel voucher. Is US Airways one of these airlines? I'm looking for a fare for July to Scotland and while the fares are high, US Airways beats some of the other fares I'm seeing by a fair bit. I'd like to grab it now, although I'm afraid that when the date gets closer, the fares will drop even more. Guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks, Sue

My experience is that they do. If you think the fare is good, grab it as summer fares to Europe usually only go up.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I use Sidestep, and also watch the Milage Run board at www.flyertalk.com

I also watch the websites of the European LCC's, since many of the good fares now are limited on where they go. If I can get to London or Frankfurt, I can find a cheap fare from there on airlines like www.easyjet.com , www.ryanair.com , www.wizzair.com , www.skyeurope.com , www.germanwings.com ,etc.

[dwhm Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dwhm]

within Europe or to/from europe

well, any flight within europe should be compared with:

Cheap flights - low cost and budget airline specialist in Europe & Australasia i like the map feature best: Cheap flights - low cost and budget airline specialist in Europe & Australasia

then there is Book cheap flights, hotels, car rental, city breaks and package holidays with Opodo
i just found a flight LAS > FRA return for Euro 330 including tax etc. Check the Deals on Condor - Wir lieben Fliegen. they offer flights for as low as Euro 99.

from europe to KongKong try Oasis Air , one war from STG 99

Anyone needing help for flights to/from/within europe, let me know.