5/12/2008 at 4:03 PM
Tags: HOWTO, Airfares, Airfare Deals, Rick Seaney, Airlines (all tags)
Have you tried to book an airline ticket lately? They're getting expensive! But without a miraculous drop in the price of oil, fares are only gonna go up this summer.
Luckily, airfare obsessive Rick Seaney has a terrific tip for keeping your costs down as prices go up: Hedge. Usually it's detrimental to buy plane tickets more than about six weeks before your departure. But Rick says this summer, you're better off locking in a price now before fuel surcharges--and prices--go up yet again.
We love this tip because it's so insider-y. Airlines do the same thing when buying fuel; it's been helping the bottom lines at Southwest and JetBlue for years. If you're gonna stay within your summer travel budget, better get booking now.
Of course, we should mention that there's always the chance that fares will end up dropping on your particular route, but that's the risk you take when you're playing the oil futures market. Hey, now you know how the airlines feel!
Related Stories:
· Attention Summer Travelers: Hedge [Rick Seaney]
· Airlines Finally Passing Higher Costs on to Passengers [Jaunted]
· Airfares coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Fetchy]
by pbb
5/08/2008 at 4:00 PM
Tags: JetBlue, Airlines, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Deals, Airfare Deals (all tags)
We're no strangers to weird airfare deals, but the latest offer from JetBlue is quite curious. If you book a ticket for yourself by May 16 for travel before June 11, you'll get a $50 voucher for use later this fall, between September 3 and October 31.
The first catch is that you have to sign up for the airline's loyalty program to get your credit. Also, by giving away a voucher for the future instead of an immediate $50 off, the airline saves itself a bunch of money: You know some people are gonna either forget about their vouchers or not be able to use them when the time comes.
JetBlue has also crafted a rule to protect some of its business travel revenue. You have to book your own tickets in order to claim the $50, so you won't be seeing a voucher if your boss or secretary does your travel planning.
Still, if your travel plans sync up, you'll save some cash if you book by next Friday. Nothing curious about that.
Related Stories:
· JetBlue $50 Off Sale [Official Site]
· JetBlue coverage [Jaunted]
· Airfare Deals coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
4/21/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: Virgin America, Airfare Deals, Airfare Sales, Travel Deals (all tags)
So, Virgin America is trying to price its way into the hearts of consumers as the legacy airlines are reeling from ever-higher jet fuel prices. Sounds like the perfect time to launch an early summer sale!
Our quick search of some dates in May shows that VA does indeed have the lowest prices between SFO and JFK. (The carrier's about 10 percent cheaper than the best seats on American.) On the new LAX to SEA route, fares on Virgin just edge out Alaska Airlines' prices.
Other routes are on offer, too. The current sale ends this Friday, but as Airfare Watchdog notes, VA has a tendency to extend discounts when people are buying tickets. Like we've said, the first one's always (close to) free.
Related Stories:
· Virgin America Summer Sale [Official Site, via]
· Virgin America Has a Plan to Get You Hooked [Jaunted]
· Virgin America coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: b_d_solis]
by pbb
4/14/2008 at 10:06 AM
Tags: Airfares, Airfare Deals, Deals, American Airlines, Caribbean Travel (all tags)
Cancellations? What Cancellations? American Airlines wants you to forget all those troubles and get down to Latin America and the Caribbean on the cheap.
The current promo is for tickets out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but those cities are easy enough to reach on either AA or the low cost carrier of your choice. Once at MIA, we're talking round trip to Managua, Nicaragua for $289 all-in or flights from FLL to San Jose, Costa Rica for $260 all-in. Caribbean destinations include Santo Domingo, DR and Grand Cayman.
The bad news is that you'll have to buy your tix today; the sale ends at midnight. Of course the good news is that fares are dirt cheap.
Related Stories:
· Low Fares from South Florida on AA [Official Site]
· American Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
4/07/2008 at 9:40 AM
Tags: Virgin Atlantic, Airfares, London Travel, Travel Deals, Deals, Airfare Deals (all tags)
Thinking about a trip to London? Don't want to fly British Airways and deal with the Terminal 5 baggage nightmare or Naomi Campbell going batshit for no good reason?
Virgin Atlantic has some spring deals on their Premium Economy class from a bunch of American cities to London.
For instance: Los Angeles to London is $464 one-way from Apr 24-May 25. Over the summer (until Sept. 3), the price jumps to $634 one-way. From Newark, the deal is much cheaper at $314 one-way from April 24-May 25. ($464 one-way over the summer.)
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by juliana
2/27/2008 at 5:07 PM
Tags: Airfare Deals, Airfare Sales, Travel Deals, Airlines (all tags)
We see more than our share of airfare deals every day, but this week might set some kind of record. There are heaps of super-cheap fares out there right now. Most of these bad boys need to be booked in the next few days, so if anything looks good, don't wait.
Delta is serving up some low fares from Atlanta and New York. Think round trip from LGA to New Orleans for $224 all-in.
And Southwest has some one-way fares as low as $29, with lots more tickets going for $49 one-way. (You can even book 'em if you're a cutie.)
Related Stories:
· Delta Puts Atlanta and New York on Sale [Official Site]
· Southwest Lets Your Get Away in April and May [Official Site]
· JetBlue Goes Coast-to-Coast for $129 One-Way [Official Site]
· US Air Flying Philly to Barcelona for $500 [Official Site]
· AirTran Seats Starting at $39 One-Way [Official Site]
[Photo: Neil101]
by pbb
2/26/2008 at 1:22 PM
Tags: Eurofly, Low Cost Carriers, LCCs, Arthur Frommer, Airfare Deals (all tags)
Original Euro cheapo Arthur Frommer has been flogging a super low fare on Eurofly for the past few weeks. And we have to say, $474 all-in is a damn good price for NYC to Rome in April. But do you really want to go transatlantic with this airline?
Probably not. Most of the reviews we can dig up online are negative, with late flights and diversions being the top complaints:
Our flight from JFK to Naples left at 4 am, nearly 6 hours late. There was no EuroFly staff at the gate to provide updates or explanations for the delay.
Another reviewer had a similar experience:
I've only flown on Eurofly twice, but on the first occasion our flight was delayed four-and-a-half hours...On the second flight, we had an initial delay of 2 hours only to be then taken from Naples by bus to Rome to board a plane back to JFK...I would never want to fly them again.
How much headache is a cheap ticket worth? Not this much.
Related Stories:
· Eurofly's Offer Looks Better Every Day [Frommer's Blog]
· Eurofly Reviews [Review Centre]
· How Fly Is Eurofly? [Jaunted]
· Airfare Deals coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
1/29/2008 at 2:13 PM
Tags: Airfare, Airfare Deals, Websites, Travel Websites, HOWTO (all tags)
We love us some online flight booking. And while we were pricing out a trip this weekend, we were once again reminded of how positively awesome Airfare Watchdog can be.
Thanks to George Hobica and his team, we managed to save close to $300 bucks on two tickets. And all we had to do was punch in a promo code we got from AW. But booking online can be a hassle. Luckily, we're here to tell you how to do it right:
Our six-step guide to saving money.
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by pbb
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