Who knows the best source for airline deals??

[truhavoc]

I am getting married towards the end of May and I am trying to find a good place to go on a honeymoon. I am looking for a site (if one exists) that posts the best deals from select airports to various destinations. I know I have heard of a site like this on the local radio station but I cannot recall the URL. I am looking for this because I can leave from multiple airports (I live in OH but am getting married in DC)....anyone have any pointers? Using sites like expedia just isn't all that effective for this.

[amerikat]

1. I used to use cheaptickets.com(NT)

[newsguyatl]

2. i've never

found any cheaper than www.airtran.com

[RC]

3. Don't know about cheapest, but

I've found this site to be pretty good.

http://www.orbitz.com/App/ViewFlightSearch?z=c5di&r=1

[HeeBGBz]

4. I always use Expedia

I've never had any problems with them.

[flamingyouth]

7. I use expedia too n/t

[amazona]

8. you can way beat expedia

Not to be mean but that is so 1997. :-)

Sidestep.com checks expedia, orbitz, travelocity, and all the rest of the usual suspects all in one chewy chunk of a search.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[flamingyouth]

10. Whatever, it works for me

Never had a problem. :hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Sometimes the best deals are on the airlines' own websites.

They don't have to pay fees to these external sites if they sell the tickets themselves. So find out which airlines go where you want to go and see what it costs to buy directly from them.

On edit: Before buying your tickets, go to http://www.seatguru.com to decide which seats you want. It shows the configurations of all airplanes the airlines operate, and notes the best and worst seats for each.

[mtnsnake]

9. That's true, although I've had good luck overall with Expedia

I forget which airline it was, but I remember one time getting a better deal through the airline's own site than I could've with Expedia.

[amazona]

6. check air-fare,com every morning

Every day after you brush your teeth, check:

http://www.air-fare.com/

When you pick your destination, always check the price with

http://www.sidestep.com

Cheaptickets.com in my very humble opinion is a thing of the past as far as having the cheapest price, as is southwest.com or any other proprietary site. Sidestep.com checks ALL the sites, even those who don't want to be trolled for their prices like southwest.

Last year I got about 55,000 miles from flying...hmmm...paid less than $2K total. Visited...er...3 continents. I received a voucher for $300 which I used to pay for a free trip, and I received 2 free air tickets for another trip which I will take in the fall with my very patient partner who has never seen Canada.

So yeah I'd say definitely use sidestep. And if you think you and your new bride/groom will be traveling a lot in future, be sure to sign up to get a frequent flyer number.

If you knew where you wanted to honeymoon I might be able to give you more specific suggestions. I have no money at all and travel tons but I'm signed up with tons of travel deal sites and thanks to my state of idleness generally have lots of time to find travel deals.

The airlines are desperate and deals are there to be had. I'm flying round-trip to Paris for $310 dollars for example. That deal is over but there is always another deal.

Flying for free or cheap can be a surprisingly technical topic but if I knew a little more I might be able to help you.

As (obviously) I'm about to go out of town, PM me in case I lose this thread and when I return from my trip I can try to help you. You have time, May is an eternity away in airline time.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[truhavoc]

12. Thanks a bunch, this is exactly what I've been looking for

I want an island location for the honeymoon, but I got engaged in the bahamas so they are out. I am looking at either hawaii, figi, maldives (if ok after tsunami) really anything as long as it is a nice tropical local. I'll keep checking daily...thanks for all the pointers!!!

[mtnsnake]

11. Does anyone remember People's Airlines? Damn they were cheap

Only thing was that all the passengers had to pedal like hell to get the plane off the ground!

[yellowdogintexas]

13. orbitz is good, also

also, watch for the air/land packages offered to places like Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Cabo, Puerta Vallarta, Puerto Rico, etc.

You can choose between all inclusive or breakfast only meal plans; the price will be for the airfare and hotel combined, and they are quite often really good deals.

try these websites for air land packages or air only if you get lucky
Funjet
Adventure tours

I lucked out on a 7 day air only package from DFW to Cozumel, then we booked a bed and breakfast on the island for $35 per day for three people. The air only tickets usually pop up when they have odd seats to fill on the plane; I booked mine about 7 weeks before we traveled. I had just decided to go ahead and book a package when these fares showed up.
When we got there, I took a look at some of the places that were part of the air/land packages and they were all very nice.

[Schema Thing]

14. I've found Yahoo to have really good

tools for searching lowest price. You can even set up alerts so that they will e-mail or phone/text you when your destination drops by a specific amount. They also have a wonderful "map based" fare display, that shows a variety of destinations from a starting city, w/ best prices.

As others have mentioned, the airline sites are pretty good nowadays too. American has some new tools that are excellent for searching lowest price combined with dates available.

I actually found that going straight to American showed me better prices than Sidestep did, for an American flight.

Also, TravelZoo will e-mail you some pretty enticing deals once a week. Just got one for 4 nights in Paris for 399.00 that is really calling my name.

Happy travels!