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Home > Smart Spending > Archives > 2008 > October > 20
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Plane Truth: Cheap Airfares At Your Fingertips
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When the price of a barrel of oil busted through the $100 barrier and continued to ascend like a 747 taking off at Hartsfield-Jackson, I figured airlines would jack up their lowest fares accordingly. Indeed, bargain hunters like me noticed a bump, but not as much as expected.
Now, the law of gravity is kicking in, and the landing has been anything but rough. Fares offered by AirTran, for example, have dipped as far as $138, plus tax and fees, to my beaten-path cities in Florida, $158 to D.C. and $168 to New York. Those enticing numbers are remindful of a bygone era when gas was south of $2 per gallon.
Last month, I spotted a round-trip seat on Delta to LaGuardia for $204, counting extras, and snatched it up. Such a deal, eh?
Shoulda waited. A few weeks later, the same flights on selected days were available for $189 total on Delta and AirTran. (For comparison’s sake: Driving my Audi to The Big Apple and back would burn about $215 in gas, at $3 a gallon.)
Have you purchased a red-tag plane ticket lately that you’d like to brag about?
Finding some values is easy. Sign up with your most-traveled-on airlines and receive email alerts on sales. For me, as you may have surmised, it’s Delta and AirTran.
What other airlines send fare-related emails to subscribers? How do you evaluate them?
The best local source that I mine for rock-bottom deals on all flights tn and out of Hartsfield-Jackson is Clark Howard. I also tap in to several sites that are not Atlanta-specific, among them Expedia and Last Minute Travel.
Do you have a favorite Web site for checking out fares?
It’s usually a given that the most alluring fares apply to travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, sometimes Thursdays. Last I checked with AirTran, though, it extended to some Mondays. So, if you are not locked in on travel dates, hit the flexible-days tab when cruising online for fares. On Delta, you can look at a seven-day window, five on AirTran. More [travel tips]:(http://airfare.michaelbluejay.com/.)
For budget-conscious air travelers, what comes down probably will go back up. So, to cope with the ever-changing fares, heed the advice of the flight attendant: Fasten your seat belt.
To find ways to help make you way through a bumpy economy check out Your Money.
