Cheaper fares may NOT be available on the airlines web site!

[DandyDon]

I shop the various so-called discount sites for air fare bids, i.e. Experida, Travelocity, Priceline, but like many - I prefer to book direct with the airline, for a variety of reasons.

I'd fell for the suggestion of earning 1,000 extra FF miles by booking on the website, without confirming that I'd found the best fare for that airline, trip, and date, and more recently - I'd bought into the idea that I needed to continue to do so to avoid the extra $5 fee. But I nearly learned a hard lesson on a significant fare Roatan trip.

The best Cont Air web site fare I've found in the last week was $812

But on a hunch, I called the reservation line, and booked it for $735!
I asked why the discrepency, but could not get a good answer. I think that they just trying to fool this ol' cowboy, and you, too!

Oh, I'm still holding out. When I book by phone, they'll still hold the res for one day, and I also asked: "What would the lowest fare be if the lowest cost inventories wefre available? $715!
I find that midweek mornings are the best times to find the lowest fares, so I'll work it a little more.

 

[DandyDon]

Thought some more about this, and see that I forgot one of my favorite tricks. Here's my shopping approach, today anyway...

(1) Shop the various so-called discount sites for air fare bids, i.e. Experida, Travelocity, Priceline, for quotes.

(2) Then check direct with the airlines' web sites for their direct from the manufacturer prices.

(3) Then phone the airlines for quotes that way.

(4) Ask the magic question: "What would the lowest fare be if the lowest cost inventories wefre available?"

(5) And finally, if there is a connection airport involved, ask "What about breaking the fare there? Would that be any cheaper, can I do that, is there any problem with that?"

 

[DPJ]

If you have the flexibility for last minute travel, long weekends etc. Sign up for the miles program for all airlines serving your local airport, then sign up for emails on specials. It is amazing some of the special deals that come out, but you have to catch them quick. To a lesser degree you find out about other sales, the deals are not as good as the last minute fares, but are worth booking.

 

[munkispank]

good advice- definately shopping around is the order of the day- I have just booked a flight to Florida (out of the state for 3 months and I have to get back already) ..anyway- quotes varied from $193 to $678 for the same day!!!!!

Obviously- in addition to shopping around, check different times-oh- and don;t forget to check your airline doesn't have any of these pesky charges for scuba gear

 

[Sirto]

Ask the magic question: "What would the lowest fare be if the lowest cost inventories wefre available?"
[/SIZE]

Ok, Educate me. What exactly does this mean?

If the low cost inventory is available then that is the cost , if not, then the answer is meaningless. Isn't it?

So, why ask that question instead of "What IS the lowest available fare?"

Sounds like "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Knowing that airline rules are very strange this might really be a valid question, I'd just like to understand it.

 

[jonnythan]

FWIW, fares can change from day to day. I just booked a flight two days ago where the phone and web had the same price. Checked the web two days later and it was down by $50, reservation line confirmed it.

It happens. Check all possible sources before plonking down the cash for a flight. Travelocity, Expedia, various airline web sites, phone. Write it all down then go with the least expensive option.

The phone people are great because they seem to have the ability to check fares ten times as efficiently as you and can come up with some great cheaper alternatives for you.

 

[padiscubapro]

I shop the various so-called discount sites for air fare bids, i.e. Experida, Travelocity, Priceline, but like many - I prefer to book direct with the airline, for a variety of reasons.

I'd fell for the suggestion of earning 1,000 extra FF miles by booking on the website, without confirming that I'd found the best fare for that airline, trip, and date, and more recently - I'd bought into the idea that I needed to continue to do so to avoid the extra $5 fee. But I nearly learned a hard lesson on a significant fare Roatan trip.

The best Cont Air web site fare I've found in the last week was $812

But on a hunch, I called the reservation line, and booked it for $735!
I asked why the discrepency, but could not get a good answer. I think that they just trying to fool this ol' cowboy, and you, too!

Oh, I'm still holding out. When I book by phone, they'll still hold the res for one day, and I also asked: "What would the lowest fare be if the lowest cost inventories wefre available? $715!
I find that midweek mornings are the best times to find the lowest fares, so I'll work it a little more.

With continental just book it online.. then call back and get the quote.. now call back the web assist nuimber and you'll get the difference back... plus you don;t pay the $5 service fee for using the phone reservations and if you are a onepass member its already part of your itenary and if you are Elite you'll more likely get a first class upgrade.
the price guarantee is good for 24 hours. I've been an Elite member for several years now and have used this many times.. The free upgrades are great (I had atleast 10 so far this year)... unfortunately next year I probably wount be elite (a few too many flights with other airlines this year instead on continental)

 

[diveglobal]

Hello!
I absolutely agree with jonnythan. I also always check the internet first to get a good idea of schedules and prices (Expedia, airline sites etc), then I get on the phone and start comparing with customer service reps. There are so many variables involved in getting the best price.

For me, planning the trip and getting the best rate is half the fun and I don't mind spending lots of time doing it. Also, I feel that the dive operator you go with tends to have the good info on cheap flights since they deal with their destination all the time.

The thing I am most worried about traveling nowadays is that you're not allowed to lock your bags anymore. I feel uneasy knowing thousands of dollars worth of dive gear is floating around the airport.

Can't wait to go on the next trip. By the way, any divers in the Los Angeles/Santa Barbara area on this board?

 

[DandyDon]

Ok, Educate me. What exactly does this mean?

If the low cost inventory is available then that is the cost , if not, then the answer is meaningless. Isn't it?

So, why ask that question instead of "What IS the lowest available fare?"

Sounds like "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" Actually, that's a good comparison! :laughing:

Knowing that airline rules are very strange this might really be a valid question, I'd just like to understand it.

That's a big one, but I'll try to give a simple explanation with hypothetical examples.

Let's say the airline has committed 2 planes every Saturday to Roatan, and there's a finite number of seats on each plane. The airline wants to get as much as possible for each seat, yet - not set a fare that won't be bought. So they'll dicker, in a way, using judgement calls and computer programs to control the prices - one day to the next.

They'll often have a minimum acceptable fare - say $500 RT, and a maximum if they expect to have only a couple of seats left - say $1,500 RT, but will offer the seats at various prices in between as they try to book all the seats.

So, if you call by phone and ask: "What would be the fare?" the agent will give you today's asking price - kinda' like on commodity futures: Today's selling price: "575 RT"

But if you also ask: "What would be the lowest fare possible if inventories were available?" then you get the lowest fare that those seats may be offered if the manager decides that the seats aren't seeling fast enough: "$500 RT"

Like in Jonnythan's case: Even though bought a ticket that day, maybe no one else did, so the airline manager decided to lower the prices to attract more business. It's just dickering in a different form, or maybe more like buying a car - where you never get to talk to the manager who actually sets the prices, much less know what he'd actually take for it if he went down - except with the magic question, you can find out about airline fares.

It gets more complicated when you go thru resellers, like Expedia. If Jonnythan boght from the airline direct, he may be able to request a credit for the change. If he bought from a reseller, probably not.

For my Roatan trip, I have to be on that plane, that day, and when I gave it, bought the ticket, and went to assign seats, I noticed that a group had already booked 1/3 of the coach seats, in a block - middle seats and all. Therefore, I have no hope of the fare going down.

Diveglobal/Charlotte - if you take your own cable ties, you should be able to ask the TSA agents to secure your bags after inspection. Just don't try to carry extras in your carryon.


Sidestep.com This is a new one to me, but Blackbeard's uses it to help people get to Miami, and they swear by it. I've seen it mentioned here on SB some. It claims to check all of he various sites for you. It sounds super, if it really works that way. You have to download a program, but from there - looks good!


Good luck.

 

[jonnythan]

It gets more complicated when you go thru resellers, like Expedia. If Jonnythan boght from the airline direct, he may be able to request a credit for the change. If he bought from a reseller, probably not.

Bought direct through Delta with a travel voucher. Called and asked... the woman did a poor job stifling a laugh then said sorry

Maybe if I had paid them with real money..