Hipmunk Flight Booking

[floaton]

Has anyone used Hipmunk flight booking? It seems like the prices are good, and the ease of use is outstanding.

If so how was your experience?

Thanks!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Unless there is a valid reason, always book your airfare directly with the airline.

Often, fares shown on third party sites are stale and will often be adjusted when you try to book. This isn't necessarily an error on the third party, but rather how often they query the airlines for the fares available.

Booking directly with the airline often avoids this problem and if there is a flight change/cancellation, etc, it's much easier to work directly with the airline then through a third party.

 

[jsilvers]

Has anyone used Hipmunk flight booking? It seems like the prices are good, and the ease of use is outstanding.

Note that Hipmunk is a search site, not a booking site. It redirects you to Orbitz (or, at least in the case of American, to the airline's own site) to make bookings. It also doesn't appear to include Southwest in it searches.

 

[floaton]

Thanks for the great responses, I have done very little flying.

Our family has alway been the cross-country station wagon lot. The introduction of air travel travels is a whole new bag of worms.

So what airline does everyone suggest? I have heard the reputation of Southwest being typically the most affordable.

We are considering travelling abroad to Ireland though, and I don't believe that Southwest hops the big pond

What suggestions would you give for booking international flights with affordability in mind?

Thanks!

 

[goofy4tink]

We used Virgin Atlantic to London and found them to be very reasonable and good to fly. I'm not sure how inexpensive you're going to find international flights though.

 

[jsilvers]

So what airline does everyone suggest? I have heard the reputation of Southwest being typically the most affordable.

While Southwest has built its reputation on low fares, it isn't necessarily going to be true in every case. You need to check other carriers - another may be having a sale, Southwest may have already sold all of its cheapest seats, etc. Likewise, although Southwest doesn't cross the Atlantic, no carrier is going to always have the best fares for "crossing the pond".