Airline Segment on the Show was Great! Thanks Pete!

[WaltD4Me]

That was a really great segment on airfares and air travel ect...very interesting, lots of good info!

I'd never heard of Yapta.co and have signed up already and that onebag.com site is interesting and has some really good tips. I know I won't ever achieve the "Light Traveller" status the man who runs the site suggests, but I think his site is really going to help with packing.

Thanks Pete!

 

[Cruz Family]

I agree, it was great info! Infact I took Petes advice and went to farecompare.com and booked our flights for the podcast cruise $229 per person, round trip from Boston. Not to shabby!!!
Thanks Pete

 

[disneyholic family]

in november i used kayak.com to find the cheapest flights - we had to fly from detroit to orlando
from orlando to tucson
from tucson to detroit

on kayak i was able to find the cheapest flights.....i bought each segment separately and surprisingly saved a bundle....

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've tried most of the discount websites...and, for airfare, I always find a better deal on SWA. SWA doesn't show up on Expedia or any of the others. I also find their website really easy to use. You can see all the options in a clear format. It annoys me the way most other airline pages are set up, especially after using SWA's so much.

I do use the discount sites to find hotels, but I also always find it helpful to check out the chain's websites too. Sometimes they offer price matching deals or better terms.

 

[SamIAm21]

Do you think airfares will come back down in the next few years because there's going to have to be a pushback from the consumer if the prices get too high right? It happened with gasoline and logically, it would play out similarly with airfares?

The business traveler may still use the airlines on a frequent basis, but if air fare continues to rise due to less capacity, supply and demand issues, I would have to believe that there will be a breaking point when people say, heck with it, I'll just drive, or not go.

What's your opinion on the long-term?

 

[disneyholic family]

i should clarify - you don't buy on kayak.com...it's just a search engine of fares..
it searches all the websites - airlines and discounters and lists all the fares...

then you buy it on whatever website...
i only bought on the sites of the airlines themselves...

and southwest is also shown on kayak.com...
but for the flights i bought, southwest wasn't the cheapest...the regular airlines were all cheaper...
you just had to know what flight to request...
kayak gave me that information...
i'd never heard of it before i used it in november and it was fabulous..

 

[MM32830]

I fly almost exclusively on Southwest. I usually fly about 10 times a year.

One great benefit that Southwest has is the "Companion Pass". If you fly 50 or more times a year (I don't) or you receive 100 or more credits with a partner (which I do), I get a companion pass. I can designate a companion (wife) that then can fly with me for free.

I accrue 100 or more credits a year using the Southwest Visa. If you use the credit card for personal use, chances are you won't be able to charge enough for earn the 100 credits but if you own a business and pay all your bills with the Southwest Visa, you can easily earn 100 credits a year.

On top of the companion pass, Southwest is just a great airline to fly with. They don't nickel and dime you with all the bag fees and they make it easy to change a reservation. There is no "change fee". If your new reservation is more expensive, simply pay the additional fee. If the new reservation is less expensive, you get a refund. How simple can that be?

 

[disneyholic family]

I fly almost exclusively on Southwest. I usually fly about 10 times a year.

One great benefit that Southwest has is the "Companion Pass". If you fly 50 or more times a year (I don't) or you receive 100 or more credits with a partner (which I do), I get a companion pass. I can designate a companion (wife) that then can fly with me for free.

I accrue 100 or more credits a year using the Southwest Visa. If you use the credit card for personal use, chances are you won't be able to charge enough for earn the 100 credits but if you own a business and pay all your bills with the Southwest Visa, you can easily earn 100 credits a year.

On top of the companion pass, Southwest is just a great airline to fly with. They don't nickel and dime you with all the bag fees and they make it easy to change a reservation. There is no "change fee". If your new reservation is more expensive, simply pay the additional fee. If the new reservation is less expensive, you get a refund. How simple can that be?

southwest was boarding right next to us in november...i don't think i could take the pressure of not knowing what seat i'm in....
unless i'm traveling alone, in which case i wouldn't care...but when i'm with the family, i want to be seated together on the plane...
i'm willing to pay extra to ensure we're seated together..

 

[MM32830]

southwest was boarding right next to us in november...i don't think i could take the pressure of not knowing what seat i'm in....
unless i'm traveling alone, in which case i wouldn't care...but when i'm with the family, i want to be seated together on the plane...
i'm willing to pay extra to ensure we're seated together..

The boarding procedure on Southwest is, in my opinion, far superior to other airlines.

The secret behind getting to all sit together is to get your boarding pass online 24 hours before your flight. Exactly 24 hours before your scheduled departure, you go online and check-in. You then print your boarding pass which will have a letter (A B or C) and a number. As long as you are in the A or B group, you would have no problem sitting together.

I've seen times that I checked in several hours later than the 24 hour mark and I still had B boarding.

Also, Southwest's open seating policy allows you to choose whatever seat you want. If a bunch of kids decide to sit behind you, you have the option to move without asking a flight attendant to move (assuming there is even a sear available).

Like I said, I believe Southwest's open seating is far superior (unless you can't check in online).

 

[disneyholic family]

The boarding procedure on Southwest is, in my opinion, far superior to other airlines.

The secret behind getting to all sit together is to get your boarding pass online 24 hours before your flight. Exactly 24 hours before your scheduled departure, you go online and check-in. You then print your boarding pass which will have a letter (A B or C) and a number. As long as you are in the A or B group, you would have no problem sitting together.

I've seen times that I checked in several hours later than the 24 hour mark and I still had B boarding.

Also, Southwest's open seating policy allows you to choose whatever seat you want. If a bunch of kids decide to sit behind you, you have the option to move without asking a flight attendant to move (assuming there is even a sear available).

Like I said, I believe Southwest's open seating is far superior (unless you can't check in online).

i like picking my seat when i buy my ticket....and then not having to think about the flight again...

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I loved the info on Southwest about them giving you credit back if it comes up lower. Good stuff to know. Thanks Kevin

 

[Minnie Lor]

I agree, great info. I've used Yapta, Farecast, and oh, the other one you mentioned ~ farecompare. I don't have them bookmarked anymore and it's great to have this info in one spot. I need to check them out again. I never heard of website that gave tips on packing. Checking that one out also.

This show is going to stay in my archives. Thanks!

 

[Minnie Lor]

Oh, I'm a southwest fan, also. Never had a problem picking my seat.

 

[exwdwcm]

great info- we have bookmarked yapta for sure now!

I don't fly SW often, but i will definitely be looking at them more closely now that eveyrone has the bag fees. I fly AA most of the time, especially when I travel for business, which used to be often, but now is a rarity (since i had my son). We just don't like flying out of Love Field in Dallas and prefer DFW- but i might have to try SW.

we are even considering shipping our items to WL for our trip next December due to all the fees.

book now? I wish. So we are simply waiting until we can book our flights. i haven't found anywhere the books more than a year out and unfortunately we are a year and 4 months out.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

We love SW - but I didn't book them for our next trip to WDW. Their prices were unusually high to Orlando this time and it was way cheaper on AirTran. It really pained me to not choose SW - it's probably why I put off booking the flights for so long. I would much rather travel SW.

I was a little put off as I booked Airtran - they charged $6/person to book a seat ahead of time! These fees are going to start getting sneaky!

 

[TheBeadPirate]

I am a "real" sized guy as well... fly about 240 one ways a year with SW (they tend to stop in a city or two on the way to the ultimate destination so we just count the end destination as one trip)..

You can pay about $25 dollars more for business select and be gauranteed to board in the first 15 people... so no worries about sitting together

A free flight everytime you fly 8 roundtrips, free cocktail books with each free flight and free cocktails with every business select flight... oh and the peanuts

If you sign up for the "ding" program you will get an automatic e-mail everytime they discount a flight to your favorite city (I am thinking Orlando or LAX for this crowd)

My only complaint is the other 50 flights each year that I have to take to get to cities not served by SW (prefer Delta, US Scare, and then I just give up and drive)

Get on our Christmas holiday flight from NOLA to either Orlando/LAX or the Food and Wine Fest flight in October and I buy cocktails for the plane!!!! (well I actually just use all of my free coupons to make said purchase)

Watch the flight attendent lanyards (I have done some fine pin trading for disney pins with the SW flight staff)

 

[checkwriter]

Great report, Pete! I appreciate you taking the time to 'vet' those sites for us. Your hard work showed, and I learned some things I didn't know before.

I'm also a big Southwest fan. One thing I don't see mentioned too much are the Southwest Youth fares. You have to call for these, but they are typically offered at a nice discount off the "Anytime" fare. They come in handy if your plans change too close to your trip, so that the lower "Wanna Get Away" fares are no longer available. They are also treated as an "Anytime" fare, which means they're refundable (better than just a credit to your account), and you can make same-day changes without worrying about paying a different fare.

Here's an example: A couple of my kids are active in sports, and attend tournaments all around the country. You never know in advance how long they're going to be away; if they're winning, they keep playing and if they lose they come home. So we have to guess when we make our original flight plans.

When we use Southwest, we'll often book using the lower Wanna Get Away fares. Then if junior loses early I can just call up, cancel his original flight and rebook him on an earlier one. I don't have to pay a change fee (typically $100 on other airlines), but I do have to pay the difference in the ticket price (which I'm fine with). With the youth fares, that difference is substantially less than what it would be for a regular fare.

On another airline, I'd have to pay the change fee ($100) PLUS the fare difference -- with no youth discount.

 

[Jack's Compass]

Very good report, I think your info will come in very handy. I checked out the sites that you recomended and I was very glad to see that they also work for us in Canada, I have found a few sites like those that do not check Canadian cities. I did a quick check for flights to Orlando for next June and Yapta came back with prices that were about 15% cheaper then what I have seen before. The only thing is that they do not check airlines like Westjet, but oh well.

Thanks for all your hard work.

 

[jenmom24ks]

I also loved this podcast segment - thanks so much for all of the research that went into it!

I have a question though. Pete recommended to book airfare now, as the fares are likely to increase in the next six weeks or so, but also suggested looking at SW. SW and Air Tran have not yet released their fares for the dates of our trip next May/June 09. I was planning on waiting until SW and AT released there fares, but it may be several weeks away. I'm worried about the increasing airfares. I have not found another carrier with fares or flights that I think will be any better than what I can get on SW or AT so far.

My plan is to watch the other airlines' fares until SW & AT extends their schedules, then pick the best one at that time. Any other suggestions?

 

[NWOhioAngela]

Just a reminder to check your flights often once you have them booked. They are really shuffling people around these day and it can have an impact on your trip. Our flight for October just got changed and we are losing a few park hours on our last day now. It would be nice if the airlines would notify you when they change stuff, but they don't always, so it is YOUR job to make sure your flight hasnt changed.

Now somebody tell me not to freak about only 1/2 hour to catch a connecting flight in Atlanta.