Flight ticket blues

**RecessionWidow** · 06-28-2011, 01:09 PM

I hear talk of cheap air fares, but they're not showing up for me. I'm trying to book a flight 9 days in advance for my DH to simply come home for a weekend. The prices I'm seeing are not affordable...what am I doing wrong? Is there no other way except to book further in advance??? That won't work because his schedule changes by the minute!

(SO desperately unhappy about being separated.)

**wunsagin** · 06-28-2011, 01:49 PM

usually 14 days in advance will get you a better fare

**Darlene** · 06-28-2011, 02:00 PM

I don't have any advice for you but wanted to give you a hug and hopes that you can find a solution that works for you.

**wanderlusting** · 06-28-2011, 02:46 PM

I'm sorry

high ticket prices are the reason DH and I haven't gone back to the states in 8 years to visit family except when the Air Force paid for our home leave.

I hope you're able to find some cheap tickets

**fernykins** · 06-28-2011, 03:18 PM

I get better deals sometimes if I go to the airlines web site, like southwest. Fern

**krbshappy71** · 06-28-2011, 03:37 PM

Hugs to you!

I'm in a long-distance relationship and we book our next visit right after the current visit. 4 months in advance. The first month we will watch the prices all month to get an idea of what the highs and lows are but by now (3 years of this) we pretty much know the range and just watch for a sale.

We use expedia.com and cross reference with other sites as well. We prefer Frontier if we can get it within the same price range.

**craftypam** · 06-28-2011, 04:50 PM

Try tonight after midnight. Not sure now because when gas prices skyrocketed so did flights. I booked last year this way and got the best price I had found in months.

**Contrary Housewife** · 06-28-2011, 05:13 PM

Very early morning flights tend to be cheaper than later morning flights. In general, try different times of the day and you will see different prices.

Try different days of the week. M-F prices are different than weekend prices. Flying Monday morning is so much cheaper than flying home Sunday night.

Direct flights cost more, but they hardly ever run them any more. If you are willing to put up with multiple stops or layovers you can sometimes find cheaper flights.

Call the airlines directly and ask if they have any special offers still open. What they do is offer teaser rates, like "Flights to New York, $39!!", but they only have 10 seats for sale at that rate (and they are not in the good part of the plane) and they get snapped up fast. But sometimes the unpopular times of day might still have seats.

Try a service like Priceline where you can "make an offer" on flights or get last minute deals.