Very OT: Cheap USA flights?

[Kitaman]

Where do you all go to get low air fare? I'm going to Florida (Miami/Ft Lauderdale) from Hartford/NYC area next month, and the prices are all over the place and non-stops relatively high.

Kayak, Expedia, Priceline. . . . . . am I missing a hidden gem out there?

 

[whaler11]

For that flight I'd start directly with Jet Blue for FLL and West Palm.

 

[Husky25]

Where do you all go to get low air fare? I'm going to Florida (Miami/Ft Lauderdale) from Hartford/NYC area next month, and the prices are all over the place and non-stops relatively high.

Kayak, Expedia, Priceline. . . . . . am I missing a hidden gem out there?

They are all pretty much the same, but I have an account with Expedia because I've booked hotels through them in the past. My wife uses Orbitz. I also use Southwest.com because SW does not show up on the other sites and is typically competitive. The problem with Connecticut is the airport as opposed to the airlines. BDL to San Antonio (where I am going at the end of the month) is $387. BOS to SAT is $330.

 

[NJHusky]

Where do you all go to get low air fare? I'm going to Florida (Miami/Ft Lauderdale) from Hartford/NYC area next month, and the prices are all over the place and non-stops relatively high.

Kayak, Expedia, Priceline. . . . . . am I missing a hidden gem out there?

I travel quite a bit for work and would suggest you start with Kayak and check the other too. But know that they don't scan all airlines. I don't think Kayak covers southwest

Try alternate airports too....like Palm Beach

 

[Dove]

www.icanfly.com is my go-to cheap flight guys.

 

[Kitaman]

www.icanfly.com is my go-to cheap flight guys.

LOL my wife going also. If I use this she would gladly push me off the cliff.

 

[Leebo]

Yeah, I would say the key is being willing to mix and match airlines and airports. Be willing to fly to or from a nearby city, since all airlines have different locations.

 

[patrick]

Book with Expedia on Tuesday at 3:00 pm, that's when you should get the cheapest flights!

 

[imno1]

You aren't going to find a site where the costs differ all that much. When going I vacation I'll usually value convenience over price unless the flights are outrageously expensive or the connections suck. I live in Milford and just flew from New Haven to Cancun for the holidays. The ease of leaving my house at 6:00 for a 7 am flight was worth any additional cost ( even though the flight was surprisingly cheaper than bdl or lga) My guess is your cheapest fair will be out of LGA. If driving to an airport use a park and ride. Usually you can find coupons to get a free day. I'm sure you're an experienced traveler but I alway consider total travel duration, parking, and stress as well a plane fare. Oh and if you find a fare you like book it. I can't tell you how many times the fare went up or no seats available when I went back to book.

 

[Drew]

also make sure you're checking all the relatively close airports. theres honestly so many in and around CT people forget about.

BDL, HVN, PVD, BOS, MHT, LGA, JFK, ISP, HPN, SWF, ALB are all essentially within ~2 hours of Hartford and you can usually find a pretty good fair when you're searching from that amount of airports. I have to search all of them when I fly back up from CLT for school in Storrs and I've found the biggest sleeper airports to be HVN, PVD, and HPN. Good luck

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Southwest flies to FL from BDL and NY as well, they don't usually show up on search engines but are worth a look. Free bags at least.

 

[Husky25]

...I alway consider total travel duration, parking, and stress as well a plane fare. ...

Precisely why (especially with kids) my wife and I opt to drive within about 7 hours. When you figure in the drive time (45 min to Windsor +15 min. checking in at Roncari), check in time (about an hour), flight time (1/2 hour pre-board + wherever you go), baggage time (15 min- 1/2 hour), and transport to hotel/relatives house. It is typically cheaper, less aggravating, and the difference in time is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

On the other hand...Yes, I have driven to Miami. Never again.

 

[imno1]

Precisely why (especially with kids) my wife and I opt to drive within about 7 hours. When you figure in the drive time (45 min to Windsor +15 min. checking in at Roncari), check in time (about an hour), flight time (1/2 hour pre-board + wherever you go), baggage time (15 min- 1/2 hour), and transport to hotel/relatives house. It is typically cheaper, less aggravating, and the difference in time is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

On the other hand...Yes, I have driven to Miami. Never again.

I did notice a banner after my post that SW Air has some flights from Hartford to FL for $112 each way.

 

[Danzz]

Precisely why (especially with kids) my wife and I opt to drive within about 7 hours. When you figure in the drive time (45 min to Windsor +15 min. checking in at Roncari), check in time (about an hour), flight time (1/2 hour pre-board + wherever you go), baggage time (15 min- 1/2 hour), and transport to hotel/relatives house. It is typically cheaper, less aggravating, and the difference in time is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

On the other hand...Yes, I have driven to Miami. Never again.

Up 14 hours total? Maybe when I was younger but not now.

 

[Husky25]

Up 14 hours total? Maybe when I was younger but not now.

I don't understand the comment. Are you under the impression that we go round trip in the same day? You can't just count flight time. It takes time effort and money (as well as fractional years off your life) going to and from airports.

Driving to D.C., for instance, saves money on a rental car too if you are not near a Metro stop.

 

[Waquoit]

Can you go Tuesday to Tuesday? That made a big difference in our March trip to WPB.

 

[8893]

1. The Tuesday afternoon fare drop is real. I have booked on Tuesdays several times after watching fares and most of the time have saved a little to a lot.

2. Use this website to save your search (you can include all variables, including a variety of airports) and keep checking it to watch for the fare trends: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/.

3. Note that the above website does not cover Jet Blue or SWA. For Florida especially (and southern destinations generally) Jet Blue and SWA will often have the best options in terms of price and non-stops. So...when you see a fare change trending on the matrix site, immediately check Jet Blue and SWA to see if they are cheaper (SWA usually is; Jet Blue all depends on when you buy your ticket, and the cheap flights there tend to disappear very quickly).


Just yesterday I booked a RT, non-stop flight on SWA for my daughter to go from BDL to Fort Meyers during April break for $288 total. I was pretty amazed--good flight times too.

 

[upstater]

I use Airfare watchdog for flights that aren't listed on any sites.

 

[Fishy]

This is not complicated.

You're flying from Florida to the northeast - perhaps the most common travel route in the history of air travel.

The fares are what they are and they're not particularly expensive, so stop flitting about and just buy a ticket.

If the thought of paying $250 to be transported 2,000 miles in three hours is still a sticking point, I have taken the liberty of researching alternative methods of travel for you.

You can catch a Greyhound bus in Fort Lauderdale on a Monday at 1:55 PM. You will be deposited in Hartford at the bus depot on Tuesday at 10:40 PM. Factoring in time for mugging and molestation, you should be out of the terminal by 11:15 at the latest.

It's only $99 one way if you buy online or $244.50 if you prefer the refundable ticket option.

 

[Husky25]

This is not complicated.

You're flying from Florida to the northeast - perhaps the most common travel route in the history of air travel.

The fares are what they are and they're not particularly expensive, so stop flitting about and just buy a ticket.

If the thought of paying $250 to be transported 2,000 miles in three hours is still a sticking point, I have taken the liberty of researching alternative methods of travel for you.

You can catch a Greyhound bus in Fort Lauderdale on a Monday at 1:55 PM. You will be deposited in Hartford at the bus depot on Tuesday at 10:40 PM. Factoring in time for mugging and molestation, you should be out of the terminal by 11:15 at the latest.

It's only $99 one way if you buy online or $244.50 if you prefer the refundable ticket option.

Sometimes your are humorous (like when you put opposing teams' trolls in their place...). Just my opinion, but this is not one of those times.