Flights

[ofl0926]

Hey what's up everyone. I was looking at some flights for a possible trip. I usually use Expedia or something along those lines

Do you guys use anything different? Suggestions?

 

[go4thegusto]

Orbitz has worked well for me or Kayak. Often times once I determine the carrier that has a good rate and connection you can get as good or better a deal on the carriers website and retain the customer service features when things go wrong traveling.

 

[Pontius]

www.kayak.com. It's a powerful and generally neutral engine. With specific flight identified I then go to the carriers website and book directly with them. Best not to have an intermediary if problems develop, and with an increasing number of "a la carte" airline options it only makes sense to make your selections with the airline directly.

 

[RdRdrFan]

I try not to fly anywhere that Southwest doesn't fly. Service on the other majors is always bad.

 

[COlineman78]

I try not to fly anywhere that Southwest doesn't fly. Service on the other majors is always bad.

Agreed, however as a volume based carrier they don't usually fly to the places like MT, AK or Canada. Denver being a hub for them I always check them first though. Flying to Winnipeg for a fishing trip this year and not looking forward to ridiculous bag fees and terrible on-time rates on United or Delta.

Another shout-out to Kayak, however most fares are so coordinated anymore so usually they are all within a couple dollars of each other. The only real deals are email-based time sensitive ones. For example: opening day of baseball Frontier had $1 flights to Vegas from Denver, but only if you were on their email list.

 

[RdRdrFan]

Agreed, however as a volume based carrier they don't usually fly to the places like MT, AK or Canada. Denver being a hub for them I always check them first though. Flying to Winnipeg for a fishing trip this year and not looking forward to ridiculous bag fees and terrible on-time rates on United or Delta.

Another shout-out to Kayak, however most fares are so coordinated anymore so usually they are all within a couple dollars of each other. The only real deals are email-based time sensitive ones. For example: opening day of baseball Frontier had $1 flights to Vegas from Denver, but only if you were on their email list.

I hear ya. I had to fly to Calgary last month for work and had to fly American. The upside was that my client booked the flights and we flew first class (not at all normal for me). The downside was that it was still American Airlines and we were treated like crap and as if we should thank our lucky stars that we were blessed with the opportunity to breathe the same air as their employees......while they continually delayed every single flight that we were on.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[ofl0926]

I'll take a look at kayak. I would have that with gas prices on the decline, flights would have been cheaper. I'm going to sign up to some of those emails and see if I could purchase a flight at a discounted rate and use it in October

 

[Dos Perros]

If you have good credit you should consider getting a credit card with an airline partner or other travel rewards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred usually has a 50,000 miles bonus when you sign up and meet a minimum spend, and those points transfer 1:1 to Southwest, British Airways (could book Delta probably), United, and some others. If you know what airline you want already then it might be a better idea to just get a card with that airline and meet the spend. Get the card, meet the spend, receive points, book flights, and cancel card all within a year to avoid the annual fee.

 

[elkyinzer]

I try not to fly anywhere that Southwest doesn't fly. Service on the other majors is always bad.

From traveling a lot for work and pleasure I disagree. I've only flown on one hunting trip so not a ton of experience there but it went smoothly with US Air via Phoenix.

I think service on other carriers is adequate, I find it more important to avoid certain connecting airports that have garbage delay times and high baggage loss rates. I research these and ask people when looking up major flights, but the East coast airports I try to avoid in order of general shittiness are: Philly, Newark, Chicago O'Hare, New York JFK, Atlanta, Wash Dulles. Not as sure about airports West of the Missp.

Better hubs in my experience are Charlotte, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix. Flown through each multiple times and no issues.