Airline help needed

[portia9]

We are flying in next April from Australia to San Francisco and are then going from San Francisco to Portland Oregon, then Orlando, then Chicago, then back to San Francisco. I am completely clueless about airlines-I need the cheapest flight possible but also want direct flights as much as possible ( we are travelling with 4 kids and I don't want to spend our whole vacation on planes) What airlines would you recommend? When is the best time to book flights? I have looked into Orbitz-is this a good way to go? The fares seem to be going up and not down-I am hoping I am just early and can pick something up somewhere down the line but obviously can't leave it to the last minute because it has to tie in with our international flight and we are meeting up with friends I have over there.

Yvette

 

[bradk]

you might want to try farecast.com actually. it'll at least include the economy airlines which orbitz doesn't

 

[tiki23]

You might also try farecompare.com One of the features of their newsletter is helping subscribers who email in for help with their trip. They usually pick unique or complicated trips - and yours is certainly both!

 

[illiniowl]

I second the recommendation for farecompare.com. I don't use it to book the flights themselves (always do that through the airline's own website), but it's great for educating yourself about whether the fares you are finding for a particular route are high or low compared to where they have been for the past several months or years.

Another thing I learned from farecompare is that the major airlines tend not to release discount fares more than 4-5 months in advance. So it is possible to buy too early and miss out on some savings. With that said, we are seeing a trend of airfares going up, primarily due to rising fuel costs, so buying earlier could be advantageous.

All* of the routes you'll be taking are serviced by Southwest Airlines - which even though it is a discount carrier is definitely also a major airline - but it does not participate in Orbitz or many other online airfare booking sites, so it would be a good idea for you to check fares at their website (www.southwest.com) in addition to your other research tools. It may be October before you can check prices and times for April on Southwest, though.

*Southwest currently does not fly to Portland from San Francisco but does do so from Oakland or San Jose (lots of nonstops). If you are stopping off in the San Francisco area as opposed to going directly on to Portland, then it may be worth it to investigate fares out of these alternative airports. Also, when flying from Chicago back to San Francisco (again, assuming you are not flying directly back to Australia) you might check the discount carrier ATA (www.ata.com) which flies from Chicago to Oakland (Southwest flies to both San Francisco and Oakland).