What is the cheapest airline? And when is the best time to book?

[proud_canadian]

I am trying to price out a trip to Orlando again next year (2011) and am curious as to what the cheapest airline is (last year we used airmiles). We will likely have two checked bags and one suitcase (I know some US airlines charge). We'd be willing to drive from Toronto to Buffalo to fly if it was a lot cheaper.

Also, is it better to book now, like 10-11 months in advance, or to wait for a last minute deal or somewhere in between. When are the prices cheapest?

 

[backyardponder]

Well, if you could predict airfares and what they will do, then you have probably made a lot of money on the lottery and therefore wouldn't have to worry about airfare.

The bottom line is it is impossible to tell. I almost always fly Southwest since they don't charge for the first 2 bags per person plus their generous flight change policy. If you change flights or if the airfare comes down you can re-book and use the credit against a future flight which operates within 1 year of your initial purchase. I make a few trips per year to different places so this works for me.

Good Luck!

 

[Jestocost]

Which airline is the cheapest is very much dependent on where you are flying from. The best time to book is largely a function of when you are flying, but there are a great many factors that come into play.

My suggestion is to start by doing a search on a site where you can see which airlines are available, what routes they fly (nonstop, connecting, etc.) and what prices are running. Keep checking that site periodically and you will get a better sense of what fares typically are and what a good price might be. Then you will have a handle on when fares for your dates are high and when they are low.

I generally don't recommend buying as soon as fares come out (330 days for the traditional carriers, later for some of the new low-cost carriers) for a couple of reasons. One, it maximizes the chances that the airline will screw around with your flight times and/or routing at least once (and possibly multiple times) between when you book and when you fly. The second would be that in general fare sales will come along closer to your flight dates (assuming they come at all) and in most cases you won't be able to rebook and take advantage of the lower fares if you're locked in to higher priced tickets (Southwest and a few others being exceptions, but SWA doesn't serve Canada so you can't book them unless you can get to Buffalo or someplace to catch a flight).

The only time I would consider booking early is if you are traveling at peak travel times, such as holidays. In that case, the biggest issue can be actually getting seats vs. paying the lowest possible fare.

 

[TJCdis]

Well, if you could predict airfares and what they will do, then you have probably made a lot of money on the lottery and therefore wouldn't have to worry about airfare.

The bottom line is it is impossible to tell. I almost always fly Southwest since they don't charge for the first 2 bags per person plus their generous flight change policy. If you change flights or if the airfare comes down you can re-book and use the credit against a future flight which operates within 1 year of your initial purchase. I make a few trips per year to different places so this works for me.

Good Luck!

On Southwest not all flights are easily rebooked. I learned that one the hard way recently. When booking the "Wanna get away" fares there are some pretty tight restrictions when you want to change - not too different from other airlines. As a "for instance", no stand by travel allowed on the cheap booking. SW wanted to charge me $150 just for the privledge of getting on the stand by list this past Tuesday. I declined and watched a flight with empty seats pull back from the gate. (Then of course my scheduled flight was 2 hours late).

Much like other airlines if you want the flexibility to change you need to book at full coach fare.

 

[MAH4546]

On Southwest not all flights are easily rebooked. I learned that one the hard way recently. When booking the "Wanna get away" fares there are some pretty tight restrictions when you want to change - not too different from other airlines. As a "for instance", no stand by travel allowed on the cheap booking. SW wanted to charge me $150 just for the privledge of getting on the stand by list this past Tuesday. I declined and watched a flight with empty seats pull back from the gate. (Then of course my scheduled flight was 2 hours late).

Much like other airlines if you want the flexibility to change you need to book at full coach fare.

Absolutely incorrect.

Southwest has no restrictions on fares except the cheaper fares are non-refundable, but you can cancel the flight and get full credit for a future flight.

Southwest does not have standby regardless of what ticket you are on. If you are on the most expensive ticket, however, then you can switch to another flight on the same route for "free" since the price you paid is the price of the walk-up fare.

 

[Jestocost]

On Southwest not all flights are easily rebooked. I learned that one the hard way recently. When booking the "Wanna get away" fares there are some pretty tight restrictions when you want to change - not too different from other airlines. As a "for instance", no stand by travel allowed on the cheap booking. SW wanted to charge me $150 just for the privledge of getting on the stand by list this past Tuesday. I declined and watched a flight with empty seats pull back from the gate. (Then of course my scheduled flight was 2 hours late).

Much like other airlines if you want the flexibility to change you need to book at full coach fare.

As the PP noted, SWA does not offer standby fares except on full-fare tickets. I'm guessing you were offered the opportunity to pay the difference between your ticket price and the full fare in order to get on the earlier flight. So, they basically will allow you to change or cancel your flights for no fee except on the day of travel.

It's important to note, however, that most airlines have done away with "free" standby on their lower-priced fare tiers. I watched an angry businessman arguing with an AA gate agent over that exact issue recently. Based on his fare class, I think they wanted to charge him something like $50 to get on the earlier flight.

 

[DCTooTall]

www.kayak.com is a decent site to get an idea and feel for total cost of your flight. You can choose a couple airports and even select your checked bag options and it will factor that into the different flight options it'll show you.

Southwest however you can only see their prices on their website, so as always, shopping around is a good idea, but for initial research an portal like Kayak is a very useful tool.


One other thing you may want to consider too in your flight planning is customs. I'm not sure how strict flights between the US and Canada are as far as going thru internation customs can be, including extra time you'd need to give between your arrival at the airport and flight to allow for security. It might be worth checking into to determine if the flight out of Toronto vs. Driving to Buffalo (with a ground checkpoint) and taking a domestic flight so you can figure out which option better suits you.