Getting the airfare deals?

[SGT Rock]

I'm hoping there are are some members out there that are airfare deal pros. I normally drive or use military arrangements and don't worry so much about hunting for bargains on flights. I often hear things on TV about killer deals but never paid much attention as to how and where...

I am trying to get to Salt Lake City Utah for the Outdoor Retailer Show August 11-14. The best deal I could find was about $398 round trip through Delta. Anyone a deal hound and can help me find something cheaper?

[TakeABreak]

I just went to www.travelocity.com (http://www.travelocity.com) , plugged the dates you mentioned and saw several for around $270. give that a try rock, I did not notice if there was a place for a military discount but you may email them and see.

[Uncle Silly]

Rock,

best thing I've found is to check with Orbitz and Travelocity, figure out the cheapest flight (or set of flights) that get you there, and then check that airline's website for the tickets. Orbitz and Travelocity will be more expensive than the airline's site.

Flying on a weekday will be cheaper than flying on a weekend. If you have the option, fly back on Monday the 15th, that should bring the fare down a bit. You should also check flights from multiple airports nearby... you're near Knoxville? Maybe check Nashville if you haven't already. I see American Airlines flights from there for $373 on Orbitz (and American's site should be a little cheaper).

This far in advance, you ought to be able to find a ticket for around $200, but it may take some digging. The cheaper tickets will come from a discount airline like Northwest or America West, not a major like Delta or American.

luck!

[SGT Rock]

I checked Travelocity and they quoted $404 flying from Knoxville. I'm only about 15 minutes drive from that airport. It was about $350 from Nashville on the same site.

I just looked again at the pages I saw earlier and I can't even find the $398 price again. Seems like they all bumped up to $404 since then.

[Fiddleback]

Common advice but not everyone knows it...early purchase is good. In the past couple years I've found somewhere between four and six weeks in advance is about the minimum. Closer to flight date than that and the prices start going up.

In the meantime, check up on Southwest. I don't know if they fly to SLC or from near your area but they frequently have $99 fare specials. However, my one experience with those taught me not to expect a 'direct' flight...it took me five landings (including one three hour layover) to get from San Antonio to Spokane. But it was cheap!:o

FB

[rickb]

Southwest won't show up on thoseboards, but thier "fun fares" could be a whole lot less than what you are talking about. Probably have to fly out of Nashville.

[dje97001]

They don't seem to go to Salt Lake, but they have really cheap flights (a southwest type airline) and have recently been expanding their cities. Either way, it is worth a look for future trips.

[fiddlehead]

Common advice but not everyone knows it...early purchase is good. In the past couple years I've found somewhere between four and six weeks in advance is about the minimum. Closer to flight date than that and the prices start going up.

In the meantime, check up on Southwest. I don't know if they fly to SLC or from near your area but they frequently have $99 fare specials. However, my one experience with those taught me not to expect a 'direct' flight...it took me five landings (including one three hour layover) to get from San Antonio to Spokane. But it was cheap!:o

FBYeah, southwest is usually the cheapest but they don't fly to all that many places on the east coast. I think you have to make compromises to get the really good deals: drive far away from home to an airport that they go to to save $100 (sometimes it's worth it, sometimes not, up to you). Change your dates: I always punch in every day of the week as the prices are different. (you must think like the airlines, why would them have cheaper prices at different times: supply and demand so, ask yourself, can i stay in salt lake for an extra 4 days to save $100. up to you!
I agree also that it's best to check about 5 of those travelocity, yahoo travel, orbitz, etc. websites to fine THEIR best deal but then ALWAYS go to the airlines themselves and get a better price.
Used to be you could Airhitch anywhere but you had to be flexible. i believe they went out of business. That was a great way to travel as you didn't really know where you were going until a day or two before. Right up my alley there.
Reno may be cheaper and you could hitchike if you have lots of time but last time i hitchiked out there, it wasn't so easy anymore. (hitchiking can still be faster and much more enjoyable than the "DOG" though)
There's lots of great mountains and National Forest around Salt Lake City so, if you do go a week early to save a buck, you should have no trouble finding a nice spot to camp in. I believe there's even public transportion up to the ski areas and you could get off on the way up and have an incredible campsite! Anyway, good luck. Enjoy the show and say hi to the Montrail and Go-lite people for me. fiddlehead

[TakeABreak]

Sorry Rock, for some reason I thought you were flying out of Atlanta, It's been a long day for me. My mistake.

I just went to travelocity again and to cheaptickets.com and saw fares from $323 to $343 thats a little better.

[Alligator]

This is a good site for finiding lots of flights. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
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I once read that any flights longer than 3 months out are fairly static prices. They stay fixed until the flights start to fill and the airlines have a better idea as to what the market will be like. The flight in August is just a bit beyond this window. Prices change inside the 3 month window. They may drop (or not). However, don't wait until the last minute as at 14 days for most airlines, the prices will shoot up. I have had this happen at least three times as I was watching fares. A few airlines don't jack up the prices until the last 7 days.

Flyi.com, as mentioned, is an excellent carrier for prices but a smaller list of cities. Twice in the last month we have gotten tickets in the 14 day window at fair prices.

[SGT Rock]

So that is the strategy. I'll mark it as a reminder in my calendar to start checking fares when I am 3 months out.

[Alligator]

...
I agree also that it's best to check about 5 of those travelocity, yahoo travel, orbitz, etc. websites to fine THEIR best deal but then ALWAYS go to the airlines themselves and get a better price.
... This is very good advice. Have the exact flights with times/dates handy too, especially if dealing with a person, as they don't always have all the flights right in front of them.

[Uncle Silly]

I've heard three weeks out is the point when prices start to rise, but your mileage may vary. I went to Denver a few weeks ago and was lazy about getting my flight... from Charlotte or Greensboro airports, less than a week before my flight date, tickets were in the $600 neighborhood. Somehow RDU was still around the $180 price I'd been quoted at the three-weeks-prior point. Granted, I flew out and back on wednesdays, and prices were much higher for anything resembling a weekend (thurs, fri, sat, sun and mon). Good luck!

[orangebug]

Rock, try SideStep.Com. It will show up when you enter most travel websites, and offer to check lower fares. I usually get better deals with Delta through it than with Delta.Com. You might also visit ClarkHoward.Com to get some more strategies.

However, I'd avoid making a reservation yet. I bet it will be cheaper closer to July 4.

[Brushy Sage]

Where's your nearest Air Natl Guard station to check on possible military flights?

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Check early, check often and watch the airline adds in the paper in particular. Just an example- last April we bought 2 tickets non-stop from Washington Dulles to Paris on Air France for 600.00 total (that's for both tickets round trip. or 150.00 per segment). It was advertised in the paper, had to buy from Air France at Dulles Airport, and we had to fly in late October, but at that price, about the cost of a normal one way for one person, it was a real steal. There were some hidden costs like airport security surcharges, etc that bumped the price up from 520 to 600 so ask about all taxes etc if your decision is purely price driven.

[Sly]

I was checking into flights from Asheville to Reno about a month ago and found some for about $360 round trip, now they're $450!! Must be the spike in the price of fuel. :(

Since I'm not going until September, I'll check later.

CheapFares (http://www.cheapfares.com)

[smokymtnsteve]

265 out of Atlanta for those date on America west...

[The Solemates]

I'm hoping there are are some members out there that are airfare deal pros. I normally drive or use military arrangements and don't worry so much about hunting for bargains on flights. I often hear things on TV about killer deals but never paid much attention as to how and where...

I am trying to get to Salt Lake City Utah for the Outdoor Retailer Show August 11-14. The best deal I could find was about $398 round trip through Delta. Anyone a deal hound and can help me find something cheaper?

man this is great! you're smart Rock!! we travel all the time and are hunting for deals. next time we make a trip we are going to just post on here and have everyone else do the work for us just like they did for you!

btw....we need airfare from memphis, tn close to the whites for as cheap as possible over labor day weekend. fly on sept 1, fly back sept 5. boston is probably cheapest and we can then just rent a car. :)

[Alligator]

man this is great! you're smart Rock!! we travel all the time and are hunting for deals. next time we make a trip we are going to just post on here and have everyone else do the work for us just like they did for you!

btw....we need airfare from memphis, tn close to the whites for as cheap as possible over labor day weekend. fly on sept 1, fly back sept 5. boston is probably cheapest and we can then just rent a car. :) We like Sgt. Rock. Good luck.:cool:

[Alligator]

Ok, I will say that I have seen a lot of deals out of the Manchester, NH airport for various flights to different parts of the country. It may be that this airport is underutilized. Keep your airport search radius wide for the the New England area as there are several airports in the region.