Airline Travel: Scoring Flying Deals

Photo Credit: Jake McGuire

Traveling often for business in December and January, there is one distinct change I have noticed with airline travel and that is the abundance of great ticket prices, even on short notice. These flying deals are being offered amongst many airlines and even a few such as AirTran have announced New Year’s deals starting as low as $39 each way. Not to mention the weekly sales and opportunities to scoop up a flight on Spirit Airlines for as little as $1 at times (plus taxes and fees).

In my particular instance, the big airlines were offering the best availability in terms of flight times and pricing. I scored a round-trip non-stop flight to Washington, DC for under a $150 from southwest Florida. In addition, I secured a round-trip flight to Los Angeles (LA) for about $300 again from southwest Florida. I can remember flying to LA regularly for work and paying $600 on average.

Even with the reduced capacity, the seat availability was not bad on my selected airline routes. However, on two instances for my DC flights, I was unable to select a seat on my return flight. Instead the message stated “airline is assigning seats upon check in”.

A few road warrior tricks I have learned through navigating the friendly skies include:

1. Act Fast: Some online consumer booking sites will clearly state that there is only one ticket remaining at that price. I cannot tell you how many times that I have paused and did one more double-check of a competitor site just to click to purchase and find that the airline ticket price has changed.
2. Use a Travel Agent: Researching different flight options can be consuming to say the least and end up in frustration. A travel professional is an expert at quickly identifying availability, placing tickets on hold even through their technology systems, and securing a desired flight. Yes, some travel agents do charge a fee, but think about how much time you lose in terms of productivity and the travel agent just might save you additional monies on the actual airline ticket - more than making up for a fee levied.
3. Consider Alternatives: If you have some flexibility in your schedule, look at staying an extra day, which might result in a lower airfare or qualify you for some other supplier promotion offered by a car rental agency or a hotel. As an example, on one of my DC business trips, I opted to stay over on a Friday night my car rental price ended up being 50 percent less than if I had flew back the day earlier. Another example is my trip to LA where if I had taken the red eye home, my hotel would have cost me about $100 more as I would not have qualified for the 3-night sale and there were no differences in airline pricing.
4. Seasonal Travel: If your travels require you to select a flight with a connection, look at all of the different airlines and their connecting cities. If you are traveling to California in January and connections are offered through New York, Dallas or Charlotte, or St. Louis, as was the case with my flight, consider where winter weather might have the least effect on your travel plans. For me, I chose Dallas (even though an odd winter storm just crippled the Dallas area, I felt the odds were less that they would be hit twice compared to my other choices).

What are your road warrior tips when making airline travel arrangements?