What airlines are people using??

[patm95]

Hello. Just wondering what people are doing for flights these days. I’m used to using southwest but prices have gone up dramatically in the last couple of years. Going from stl to mic is now over 2k round trip for a family of 4.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

For me it’s JetBlue or Southwest. They are the airlines that have non stop from my airport to MCO. I am willing to pay extra to not have to change planes and save a few hours in travel.

For other destinations it depends.

 

[ReelBigPenguin]

1. Go to Google Flights
2. Find cheapest direct flight
3. Talk self out of cheap Spirit/Frontier fares. They're not as cheap as they look. Ditto basic economy from any other airline.
4. Book ticket

Most airlines keep their fares in lockstep nowadays and they all have their good days and bad days. I look for whichever airline has the most convenient direct flight.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We continue to fly SW. By the time I add in baggage fees and consider the reliability of SW flights, they’re still my ‘go to’ airline.

 

[Bellex917]

I am not loyal and will fly whatever is cheapest at times we want. I live in NJ and my top choice is Jet Blue out of Newark, but I have flown out of Philly, JFK, Trenton, Atlantic City... I've flown Spirit, Delta, Frontier... basically I'm very disloyal LOL. I will go with whoever has the best time and price.

 

[gottalovepluto]

1. Go to Google Flights
2. Find cheapest direct flight
3. Talk self out of cheap Spirit/Frontier fares. They're not as cheap as they look. Ditto basic economy from any other airline.
4. Book ticket

Most airlines keep their fares in lockstep nowadays and they all have their good days and bad days. I look for whichever airline has the most convenient direct flight.

This Is The Way

 

[_19disnA]

Depends on where I am traveling since no airlines services every city. Where you live and which airport you typically travel from also makes a difference. When comparing flights, also make sure to add in ALL of the extra costs you might encounter. Some of the shoe-string airlines make their base ticket prices seem lower, but you also have to add in the extra costs to check bags, choose your seat, etc. so you are comparing apples to apples.

I rather fly non-stop at a reasonable time of day even if it costs more to do that. Your budget and personal preferences also matter.

Many seem to be confusing the terms as well. 'Non-stop' means you go from your departure point to your destination without stopping. A 'direct flight' is NOT necessarily the same thing. Direct means you don't change planes along the way although you may stop somewhere. A direct flight MIGHT be non-stop, but the terms are not interchangeable.

 

[lilmc]

We mostly book SW, but we watch the fares often and get credit back when the cost goes down.

 

[patm95]

We mostly book SW, but we watch the fares often and get credit back when the cost goes down.

That’s a good idea. I keep forgetting you can do that.

 

[SwanVT2]

American Airlines- they continue to be significantly less expensive than United or Jet Blue. We fly out of VT.

 

[LoveDaisy]

We usually fly southwest because we don’t have littles anymore, I like to pick my seat, I don’t care if I sit alone, and once I add the luggage fees of other airlines southwest is usually cheaper.

 

[gr8ful]

I have a max price point of $400 pp in mind and when I can buy a non-stop Blue Extra fare on JetBlue with flight times that work I book it and move on. Blue Extra includes assigned seats, priority boarding, and expedited security which to me are worth paying for vs. trying to find the lowest possible fare on Southwest or JetBlue. YMMV.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Unfortunately, all/most airline prices are way up, so it requires more shopping these days. We were always SW first, and then probably United second (at least for Orlando). But SW pricing has changed things a bit - they're no longer automatically the best price. And we're concerned about what happens to their pricing next year as they go through a significant change/upgrade to new software and jets for assigned seating instead of open seating. That won't be an inexpensive change for them, and might also impact their pricing. Guess we'll see.

 

[_19disnA]

Individual flights all have seats priced at various levels. When the lowest priced tickets are gone for a specific flight, the fare jumps to the next higher level. While sales are possible, airlines have less reason to do that on popular routes where planes tend to already be fully booked. The best prices, non-stops and reasonable departure times are likely the first to sell. I have no interest in having to get up at 3am on our day of departure to race off to the airport for an early flight.

 

[gr8ful]

Individual flights all have seats priced at various levels. When the lowest priced tickets are gone for a specific flight, the fare jumps to the next higher level. While sales are possible, airlines have less reason to do that on popular routes where planes tend to already be fully booked. The best prices, non-stops and reasonable departure times are likely the first to sell. I have no interest in having to get up at 3am on our day of departure to race off to the airport for an early flight.

Yeah, we did that 3am thing once when we flew with family and let them pick and book our flights. Ugh. Never again.

 

[jennab]

My nonstop options are usually Delta or Sun Country. Maybe spirit at times. We did fly them once and it was fine. Saved money by having DH buy tickets at the airport ahead of time vs online.

I normally set up a google search to watch non stop flights, then book when the price is decent (usually 2-3 months prior to trip)

 

[jennab]

Individual flights all have seats priced at various levels. When the lowest priced tickets are gone for a specific flight, the fare jumps to the next higher level. While sales are possible, airlines have less reason to do that on popular routes where planes tend to already be fully booked. The best prices, non-stops and reasonable departure times are likely the first to sell. I have no interest in having to get up at 3am on our day of departure to race off to the airport for an early flight.

I don’t find this true. The airlines I fly tend to drop prices as the dates get closer (like 2-3 months out). They are usually more expensive when flights first come out and they decrease in price as they look to sell additional seats that aren’t filling.

 

[enzy65]

We fly nonstop to MCO from IND on SW, we like later day flights. But for our April cruise we have to fly out of SDF(KY) because of the insane IND prices.

 

[disneyseniors]

It's Delta for us! They have always been on time for us and never had any problems with anything with Delta.

 

[Dug720]

As a first choice, American, United, or JetBlue.

As a second choice, Delta (though they tend to be the more expensive option).

As a last resort, Southwest. I've had more major issues with them than with any other - and it's usually stuff they are voluntarily choosing to do rather than something required. AND they don't have a ton of non-stops out of LGA - and none to MCO from any area airport.

Absolutely not, Spirit or Frontier or any other little fly-by-night airline that pops up.