What sites do you use to find low airfare?

[cindi Member Find all posts View Profile Close cindi]

I drill fares mainly on two sites:

Airline tickets, Discount Airfare, Helping you find Cheap Flights At FareCompare

ExpertFlyer.com - Empowering the Frequent Flyer

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

ITA Software: Login

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

How exactly do you use the code fare basis? I don't see anywhere on the airlines sites you can put them in. And how do you know if the fares you found do exist already to book or not?

Man, have I got a lot to learn! This is just the tip of the iceberg........

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

I just tried a number of the sites suggested on this thread to book a flight from Malaga to Rome, this June. I couldn't find any carriers that offered that route.

I thought that I would just check to see if any has any suggestions before I book Alitalia. They had the best price that I could find.

Thanks, for any suggestions!!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

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

I need to get around Greece this summer and a hotel in Athens for a couple of nights.

I am going to be in Athens on Aug 10 or 11 and leaving to go to Rhodes on Aug 12 where we will be staying for 1 week. From there we will be going to Corfu for another full week. Then on the 24th or 25th of Aug we will be heading back to Athens to catch a flight back to the US on the 25th.

[I-DE-HO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close I-DE-HO]

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.

Pat

Pat, now I KNOW you are a college grad! Peruse & propagate in the same sentence! Seriously, I enjoy your succinct and propitious posts.

Phil

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

I can't believe how much more expensive air travel has gotten. I bought tickets in 2001 to go to Europe (France and Wales) and I think round trip it was $450 from LA to Heathrow. I just went this past Xmas/New Year, and I got a "deal" from a travel agent for $750 roundtrip. Seriously, I think b/c he was a friend of a friend, he cut the price for me even....all the low price sites (Orbitz, etc) were a good $100-$300 more than what I paid. So, my suggestion is to get in tight with someone who books travel...otherwise you'll pay more regardless.

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

Pat, now I KNOW you are a college grad! Peruse & propagate in the same sentence! Seriously, I enjoy your succinct and propitious posts.

Actually, no, I'm not. 12 years of Catholic school and a father who had me reading the dictionary at age five account for most of my vocabulary.

Regarding fare code basis searching (from another post), I target certain fare codes by knowing the airlines upgrade scheme and what fare codes are upgradeable with what instruments. Each airline is different, which is why I primarily stick to one, due to the steep learning curve. There is also a dynamic of marriagable city pairs and other arcane routing rules which can be specific to certain fare codes. This is where having live GDS access really helps, as such information can be brought up quickly.

Once I know what fare basis to target, I drill down individual segments on the GDS which have open buckets and are fareable and construct a multi-city itinerary to target that particular fare and bucket. Sometimes it gets as specific as one flight segment in an eight segment itinerary. For example, UA recently tightened their MCT (minimum connection time) a bit tighter (meaning forcing more time between connections) and this ended up killing a lot of great segment combinations because they became unbookable via autoprice (in other words impossible unless you're a travel agent or have an angel inside the airline).

Well, enough boring airline stuff for one night...


BTW, as an addendum to my earlier post about being in the UK for Thanksgiving, we actually ended up in Ottawa, CA (YOW) for that period, thanks to a mistake fare on Northwest. Flew SJC-MSP-DTW-YOW and return for 105.00 r/t plus taxes and earned 10K bonus miles due to some promo FT'ers turned me onto. Gobble, gobble

Pat

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

that could be helpfull

I need to get around Greece this summer and a hotel in Athens for a couple of nights.

I am going to be in Athens on Aug 10 or 11 and leaving to go to Rhodes on Aug 12 where we will be staying for 1 week. From there we will be going to Corfu for another full week. Then on the 24th or 25th of Aug we will be heading back to Athens to catch a flight back to the US on the 25th.

within Greece try:

Olympic Airlines

or

http://www.aegeanair.com

make sure you book early, August is hell in Greece because all greek people invade the islands. greeks are the most unlikely to leave their homecountry for summer vacation and everyone is off work in august. And it is the hottest time of the year too. expect temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius plus every day. In the night it cools down to about 39. Be aware of plenty of Mosquitos and depending of location Yellow Jackets. Any more infos needed, let me know. I can help you with some hints about Athens too, I live in Athens since November and count the days untill I return to the nicest greek island ( Skiathos in the sporades)

About hotels in Athens let me know what you are looking for, there are plenty of choices.

[cindi Member Find all posts View Profile Close cindi]

Actually, no, I'm not. 12 years of Catholic school and a father who had me reading the dictionary at age five account for most of my vocabulary.

Regarding fare code basis searching (from another post), I target certain fare codes by knowing the airlines upgrade scheme and what fare codes are upgradeable with what instruments. Each airline is different, which is why I primarily stick to one, due to the steep learning curve. There is also a dynamic of marriagable city pairs and other arcane routing rules which can be specific to certain fare codes. This is where having live GDS access really helps, as such information can be brought up quickly.

Once I know what fare basis to target, I drill down individual segments on the GDS which have open buckets and are fareable and construct a multi-city itinerary to target that particular fare and bucket. Sometimes it gets as specific as one flight segment in an eight segment itinerary. For example, UA recently tightened their MCT (minimum connection time) a bit tighter (meaning forcing more time between connections) and this ended up killing a lot of great segment combinations because they became unbookable via autoprice (in other words impossible unless you're a travel agent or have an angel inside the airline).

Well, enough boring airline stuff for one night...


BTW, as an addendum to my earlier post about being in the UK for Thanksgiving, we actually ended up in Ottawa, CA (YOW) for that period, thanks to a mistake fare on Northwest. Flew SJC-MSP-DTW-YOW and return for 105.00 r/t plus taxes and earned 10K bonus miles due to some promo FT'ers turned me onto. Gobble, gobble

Pat

Pat,

Do you have any idea of how stupid I feel when I see what you do with flights?

Did you learn all this on flyertalk?

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

Pat,

You're my hero!

I guess I'm going to pull the trigger today on Atlanta to Manchester GB for June 14ish to July 7ish at $734 unless you think I should keep looking. We have an exchange week near Glasgow and our final week is in Devon.

I also need to call RCI Points and see how many expiring points I have left over from last year. Though I don't think it's a great value, I have no vacation time left to plan and need to use those points for something. I don't mind splitting the family into two groups if necessary. The only time I've used RCI Points for air, my son was on AA, who seems to have the best fare to Manchester, so maybe we could even wind up on the same flights. They are my least favorite airline, but I guess I'll survive.

I've tried all sorts of alternate airports, but Atlanta is the closest and I think I can get free parking at a friend's there, so even with some difference in cost for six tickets by going to a more distant airport, I think Atlanta is going to be our best bet.

I KNOW as soon as I book something, there will be a better deal come along!

Sheila

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

Yes, most of what I learned has begun on Flyertalk. However, I do a lot of independent research and there is a group of us from Flyertalk (likely many groups but I'm a member of one) who work behind the scenes and don't publish what we learn. Since the travel companies and providers read Flyertalk, when we find ways to exploit their systems, publishing is the surest way to make more work for one's self

For example, when United changed to their new, still crummy, booking engine, I found a back door to the old booking engine that would still work (I'm sure others did too); once we started sharing it, it was gone within a day or two. The beauty of the old booking engine was that, if one knew what they were doing, they could manipulate the URL in the address box to bring up all kinds of interesting things Anyway, just one example of many. We were also instrumental, IMO, in changing how Travelocity prices their Asian (and likely other) hotels

Have fun!

Pat

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

Europe, especially the UK, is insane right now. See the fare construction for the why. I'd pull the trigger...

Example:


$731.50 in US Dollars
1 adult @ $731.50 Hide booking details
This ticket is non-refundable. Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee. Airport legend: ATL: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson ORD: Chicago O'Hare MAN: Manchester Int'l Atlanta, GA to Manchester, United Kingdom: 4418 miles 10 hrs 55 min
American Airlines Flight AA1509 on a MD-80 (jet) in coach class
Departs Atlanta, GA (ATL) Thur, June 14 3:25p 2 hrs 5 min Arrives Chicago, IL (ORD)
4:30p

1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A1) below
Layover in Chicago 1 hr 5 min American Airlines Flight AA54 on a Boeing 767 (jet) in coach class
(breakfast, dinner, movie)
Departs Chicago, IL (ORD) Thur, June 14 5:35p 7 hrs 45 min Arrives Manchester, United Kingdom (MAN) Fri, June 15 7:20a

1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A1) below Note: The flight from Chicago (ORD) to Manchester (MAN) is overnight. Manchester, United Kingdom to Atlanta, GA: 4418 miles 16 hrs 0 min
American Airlines Flight AA55 on a Boeing 767 (jet) in coach class
(lunch, snack, movie)
Departs Manchester, United Kingdom (MAN) Sat, July 7 10:40a 8 hrs 20 min Arrives Chicago, IL (ORD)
1:00p

1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A2) below
Layover in Chicago 5 hrs 35 min American Airlines Flight AA1995 on a MD-80 (jet) in coach class
Departs Chicago, IL (ORD) Sat, July 7 6:35p 2 hrs 5 min Arrives Atlanta, GA (ATL)
9:40p

1 adult in booking code S, covered by fare (A2) below Note: You must change terminals in Chicago (ORD).

Booking details If you want to buy this ticket, contact the airline or a travel agent. If you use a travel agent to buy this ticket:

• If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them
• If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.
Fare (A1): AA ATLMAN SJ7E2S fare (rules) $226.00
Fare (A2): AA MANATL SJ7E2S fare (rules) $226.00
Tax: US International Departure Tax $15.10 Tax: US International Arrival Tax $15.10 Tax: United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge £12.70 Tax: United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty £40.00 Tax: US Customs Fee $5.00 Tax: US Immigration Fee $7.00 Tax: USDA APHIS Fee $5.00 Tax: AA YQ surcharge $110.00 Tax: US September 11th Security Fee $7.50 Tax: US Passenger Facility Charge $13.50 Total for 1 adult passenger: $731.50 (as of Wednesday, March 7, 2007 12:02pm; fares loaded Wednesday, March 7, 2007 5:32am)

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Can anyone tell me why Expedia is quoting me $642 RT JFK LHR On Virgin for my dates but Virgin wants $922 on thier site? I'd much rather buy direct from the airline but everyone is making me nervous about the cost. I was hoping late August would fit a fall fare sale...

Wed 22-Aug-07 Special Fare

New York (JFK)
Depart 7:30 am
Terminal 4 to London (LHR)
Arrive 7:10 pm
Terminal 3 3,458 mi
(5,565 km)
Duration: 6hr 40mn
VS
Flight: 26

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3Economy/Coach Class, Breakfast, AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-600


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Total distance: 3,458 mi (5,565 km)
Total duration: 6hr 40mn


Sat 1-Sep-07 Special Fare

London (LHR)
Depart 6:00 pm
Terminal 3 to New York (JFK)
Arrive 9:00 pm
Terminal 4 3,458 mi
(5,565 km)
Duration: 8hr 0mn
VS
Flight: 25

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3Economy/Coach Class, Dinner, AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-600


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Total distance: 3,458 mi (5,565 km)
Total duration: 8hr 0mn

Total: $642.02
Included:

This total includes selected items, taxes, and surcharges. Unless specified otherwise, rates are quoted in USD.

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

lawren,

I'm not sure about the difference in price? I checked Kayak, and Delta has direct flights for your dates @ $772 pp.

Your price of $642.00 seems to be a great price.

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

A HUGE thank you, especially to Pat, and to all the other folks here and on TUG that helped me with this. I have our six tickets on 24 hour hold to give my flakey family members one last chance to back out. I also want to triple check all my dates, etc. before I shell out that much cash.

I could only get one ticket on the date Pat had checked for me, but I called in to AA and they said I could get all six on the day before or after.

I don't really have a travel agent, but I tried AAA. They couldn't come up with anything as cheap as I could see online, even when I gave them all the info Pat provided. US Air had the same rate for my first choice of dates for all six of us, but I'm the only one that already has some miles on US Air. We all have some on American.

I sort of dread flying American since they seem to be the stingiest airline around with any kind of snacks, but I guess we can carry on enough food to keep the rugrats fed and happy.

Now to get on with the rest of my planning. I'm sure I'll pester you with more questions.

Thanks again,

Sheila

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

Lawren,

Post the fare basis codes, both from the VS site and Expedia. My bet is, if the Expedia quote isn't missing YQ or the new British taxes, that they're selling those flights out of a consolidator bucket, which you won't get on the VS site. If I have the fare basis codes, I can check into it. On Expedia, you can click on the "fare rules" link to see the code. I don't fly VS so don't know where to find it on their site, but it should be linked close to the end of the purchase process.

I'll post what I see currently:


Fare rules and restrictions Please review the rules and restrictions listed below.
When you purchase your ticket, you agree to these rules and restrictions.
Please note that the most restrictive set of rules below applies to your entire itinerary.
1 Rules and restrictions

From: New York, NY (NYC-All Airports)
To: London, England (LON-All Airports)
Fare Basis Code: NJXOL7
Ticket is nonrefundable, nonexchangeable and nontransferable.
No flight or route changes are permitted.
No-show penalty is 100% on nonrefundable tickets.
Ticket may not qualify for frequent traveler awards.
In case of further questions, please call Expedia customer service at 1 (800) EXPEDIA (1-800-397-3342).
From: London, England (LON-All Airports)
To: New York, NY (NYC-All Airports)
Fare Basis Code: NJWOL7
Ticket is nonrefundable, nonexchangeable and nontransferable.
No flight or route changes are permitted.
No-show penalty is 100% on nonrefundable tickets.
Ticket may not qualify for frequent traveler awards.
In case of further questions, please call Expedia customer service at 1 (800) EXPEDIA (1-800-397-3342).


Comparing this to what I see in the GDS, I'm fairly confident that it's a consolidator fare. Book it, but be aware that it is extremely restricted. Probably the only changes permitted might be date changes, and only if the routing stays the same and there are seats in the N bucket on those flights. Don't expect to get any FF miles.

I could research it more, but then I'd be a travel agent

Last year you could fly the same route for 350.00 all-in...

BTW, I did see this....check into it if you are flexible about airline...


Fare Rules
$208 base: $208, surcharges: $0
roundtrip, excluding intl taxes Created Jan 02 2006 Fare Class TKUPHX3M Min Stay No Restriction Max Stay 3 months Flt Restr Travel must be on flights operated by KU