Airline deals?

[Nishu]

My 3 children and I are going to fly home this summer. (Yes- to answer your question- I am crazy.)

I haven't flown in at least 5 years. By now I've forgotten how to get a good deal on airline tickets... so how do I do it? We'll be flying after school is out and we may be gone for 3 weeks or so. Time of day doesn't matter that much and neither does the day of the week.

Thanks guys!

[craftypam]

I've gotten good deals on orbitz.com. I also ran into a lady in the airport in January and she said very early Tuesday morning you can get good deals and also last minute flights are usually good deals if you can do that. I never did the Tuesday morning thing; but give it a try.

[Michelle]

Try www.kayak.com

They'll search all the travel sites as well as the airlines' sites as well.

HTH

[Parksfamily5]

We always seem to get our best deal on Southwest. Not sure if they have flights to where you need them. They do not charge extra for bags. Make sure you check out all extra fees when looking at prices. Those extras add up fast.
We have also used Expedia to book through. Expedia does not do southwest air though.
I am not sure how old your children are but we always give ours a decongestant at the airport before we take off. This really helps their ears. It keeps them from getting pressure built up during take off and landing. ( It also makes them a little sleepy but that is just an added bonus. ha ha) Seriously, it does make a difference in their ears.
Hope this helps. Safe travels.
Heidi

[frugal.lass]

Keep in mind that while you will find seat sales the prices won't be as great during the summer (the airlines take advantage of the fact that families tend to vacation/travel more when school's out).

Some other ways to keep your costs/sanity in check when flying:
-bring EMPTY bottles with you to the airport and fill them up at a drinking fountain once you get past security (saves you having to spend ~$3 per bottle of water in the airport), for flavour you can use those kool-aid/crystal light/nestea singles
-bring snacks from home. You can't bring liquids/creams/gels past security so soup, yogurt, puddings, etc are out but chips, cookies, trailmix can all be brought in. If you're flying internationally look into the customs regulations...I've had more than a few lunches confiscated when my flight assignment changes and I end up headed to the States instead of a Canadian city.
-if the cost isn't prohibitive, try not to fly very early or very late with young kids. It messes up their sleeping patterns and from my experience, even a very tired 5 year old will not be able to fall asleep on that red-eye flight. The over-tired child will cry, scream and generally be uncomfortable and Mom/Dad will become desperate trying to calm their child while the other passengers start to stare angrily.
-bring lots of things to keep your kids busy with and DON'T use them all up out in the boarding lounge because if the entertainment system breaks down on the flight, you want to have something to keep them occupied with.
-if your kids are very young...don't bring a full size carry-on bag for them. Either have them bring their backpacks or get them their own kiddy rollerbag (as an FA, I don't recommend those kiddy rollerbags...most kids have NO idea what to do with them and Mom/Dad ends up having to carry those bags too). When travelling with kids, it is MUCH easier to check most of your bags in and travel "light" while in the airport (you'll have your hands full keeping an eye on your children, you don't want to lug around a suitcase for each of them at the same time).
-two very important words...Fleece Blanket. If you have small fleece throws, you might want to bring one or two as airplanes tend to be either very warm or very cool and I *think* most airlines either charge for blankets now or just don't have them on board at all. Fleece is light and really helps keep the chill off.

I always assume that most of this would be commonsense but based on the passengers I have...most people don't think about these things so I thought I'd give you a head's up. Hope it helps!!

[Contrary Housewife]

This site is invaluable: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showforum=444&

There is a lot of research that you'll need to do to learn the tricks for getting what you want from places like Priceline and Hotwire. In general these days finding a good deal on airfare takes time, so give yourself a couple evenings to look around at various sites and compare rates and times.

There are also some email travel newsletters which will alert you weekly to the best bargains. Sign up for a few using a throwaway website email box, because they will generate a ton of spam.

If your travel dates are flexible avoid flying on a weekend. Better rates can be had on Monday morning, compared to Sunday night, and there are some peak demand times that are more costly than others. Very very early flights (5-6am) tend to be cheaper than 8-9 am flights because nobody wants to get up at 2am to drive to the airport in time to get through security. However, those early am flights are almost never delayed, unlike the afternoon flights.

I also use http://www.airwise.com/ to keep track of which airline is having a strike or has recently started talking about bankruptcy, so I can avoid buying tickets I may not get to use.

[Nishu]

Thanks everyone for the answers. They've been very helpful.

Does anyone know about traveling with my dog? Can I buy a ticket on priceline and then arrange for her passage with the airline I buy from? Or will I have to buy a ticket right from the airline and get her taken care of upfront? She's 40lbs so she won't be a carryon

[ecgsmama]

Ditto Southwest, if they are available for your destination.

You can find great deals on their website, especially if you are flexible about the time of day and day of the week you fly.

Good luck and have a great trip home!

[lisaflex]

ditto on kayak. used it 5 times in the past year. great deals to be found. also, go on kayak late at night. about 10:30 or so, you will see a price drop from when you were on at 5 or 6 pm. and, you can pick what you want - 1 or 2 stops, etc.

[kmsinsa]

Ditto on Southwest Airlines. If they fly to your location they are definitely worth checking into. They are constantly having specials with one-way tickets costing less than $100.