Cheapest last minute airfare? Anyone use Hotwire or Priceline?

[ClarabelleCowFan]

DH and I want to fly into the Atlanta area this week from the DC area to go house hunting while we have the older 2 kids handled at home. Last minute airfare prices are insane at this point. Has anyone ever used Hotwire or Priceline for airfare and gotten decent rates and service?

I don't mind the odd times but we will have DS2 with us and would need at least 1 adult to sit with him and would prefer nonstop flights. Do you get to request times, nonstop or pick seats on these sites?

If DS2 was a better car rider we would just suck it up and drive but that's not an option.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[Shleedogg]

Jetblue is having a fare sale today-Wed for $10-$20. I'm thinking about trying to convince DH to take a quick 2 day trip to WDW

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't mind the odd times but we will have DS2 with us and would need at least 1 adult to sit with him and would prefer nonstop flights. Do you get to request times, nonstop or pick seats on these sites?

The answer is no, no, and sometimes. Since he's only 2, you won't be separated from him, especially if you take his carseat (which you'll need, if you're driving around scoping neighborhoods.)

I always tell people that while PL works well for last-minute flights, last-minute is a relative thing. With PL, you always need to plan to block off one day at either end of the trip as a travel-only day. Don't plan to get anything else done on those two days. (You might get lucky and get am out and pm back, but you can't count on it before the purchase is final.) If you can do that it can work for you, but if you have, let's say, 3 days of babysitting, you can only really be sure of one full day of househunting.
Remember, there is no rejecting the offer based on times or routing; they don't tell you what they are until after you have paid.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Thanks. I have been on the Jet Blue site for over an hour trying to find a routing that would work but so far the closest I can get us to GA is New Orleans or Orlando and that is still a 6 to 7 hour drive each way. (Not that I would mind Orlando but who wants to leave there to drive to go househunting!) We may still fly into New Orleans on Jet Blue and then drive over to Birmingham and fly back to BWI on Southwest - that seems to be the cheapest option at this point.

I have been trying packages on all of the last minute sites too but it is pushing close to $2k plus food, gas, etc... and I just can't justify that expense right now.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Check AirTran www.airtran.com go to their website directly

Sample fare Washington Dulles to Atlanta rt Tues to Sat this week comes in at US$1014.80 for two people, tax included.

From BWI you would be looking at $760.80 for two tickets.

 

[SKWDW]

All remaining seats for Jet Blue flights on May 11 -12 are ONLY $10!!!!!

Taxes, fees and restrictions apply. Valid for oneway travel on May 11 and 12, 2010. Please note, the following routes are not available:

Nantucket (ACK) to New York (JFK)
Aruba (AUA) to Boston (BOS)
Bermuda (BDA) to Boston (BOS)
Hartford (BDL) to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)
Hartford (BDL) to Orlando (MCO)
Boston (BOS) to Washington, DC (DCA)
Boston (BOS) to Nassau (NAS)
Boston (BOS) to Oakland (OAK)
Boston (BOS) to Punta Cana (PUJ)
Boston (BOS) to Santo Domingo (SDQ)
Boston (BOS) to San Jose, CA (SJC)
Boston (BOS) to Sarasota (SRQ)
Boston (BOS) to St. Maarten (NAS)
Buffalo (BUR) to Ft. Myers (RSW)
Cancun (CUN) to Washington, DC (IAD)
Washington, DC (DCA) to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)
Washington, DC (DCA) to Orlando (MCO)
New York (JFK) to Portland, OR (PDX)
New York (JFK) to St. Lucia (UVF)

*Sale ends 5/10/10, 11:59 PM ET, available for online purchase only at jetblue.com, for newly booked travel on nonstop flights operating 5/11 and 5/12/10 (except for BOG Bogota-originating flights), and available for all remaining seats until sold out (seats not available on all routes/dates). Fares subject to change without notice. Fares must be paid at time of reservation, and are one-way, nonrefundable, and nontransferable. Cancellations and changes can be made prior to scheduled departure for $100 per person at 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530, or at jetblue.com, with applicable fare adjustment. Cancellations are for a JetBlue travel credit only, valid for one year. If reservation is not changed/canceled prior to scheduled departure, all money associated with reservation is forfeited. Fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees up to $5 each way, and Federal Segment Tax of $3.70 per domestic segment (segment is a takeoff and landing). International offers do not include gvt. fees and taxes up to $127.60 each way. Puerto Rico offers do not include a U.S. Departure Tax of $16.10 each way. Taxes and fees must be paid at the time of purchase. JetBlue reserves the right to deny boarding to passengers without proper documentation. A second bag fee of $30 applies. Other restrictions apply.

 

[jayally]

I have used priceline twice for trips to orlando. I won't do it a third time unless as a previous poster said you don't mind wasting an entire day traveling. Priceline will route you on the absolute worse connections and times. I had a flight booked way in advance and they kept changing the time on me until I was arriving at 12:32am, making the travel day 10+ hours. They guarantee you will arrive by 12:30am so I had a 2 minute loophole. I called priceline and they actually got me a non-stop flight getting us in the early evening but I was sweating the decision for awhile. My return flight was another story and because there was really nothing wrong with the flight times I was stuck leaving Orlando on our last vacation day at 6am! Just make sure to not overbid and research what the lowest fare is. Both times I bid I didn't think the price would be accepted and I could have gone a little lower. I was also willing to fly out of other nearby airports which can me more re-bids.

 

[SandrA9810]

Always look at Airlines based out of that city. I fly Airtran a lot and haven't had any issues yet. They're based out of Atlanta and Orlando.