chaplinesque

I always end up making the wrong choice when it comes to buying plane tickets. So this time, I'm gonna' enlist the help of people who actually know what they're doing...

I need to get a domestic flight. The problem: I MUST fly during the December blackout date. More of a problem: I'm a college student with a very, very limited budget.

I always hear that you should buy it really early in advance. But then, I heard that it's best to wait.

Wait? Buy now? Will it keep going up now and will I miss my chance? Or should I wait and perhaps it will go down? Does that rule even still apply to the blackout dates?

I'll spend the money if I have no choice, but... I'd like to be able to eat for the next couple of months.

HELP! Thanks in advance!

aliska

Not sure where you are flying from/to but have daughter in college in Boston. I always buy her tickets on JetBlue or other discount airline as soon as schedule is known. Reason being that with discount airlines, the cheap tickets go first, the prices increase as demand increases and availability goes down. If you post where you are flying from and to, other Fodorites can help with strategy.

smartcookie

you need to provide us with departure and arrival city so we can recommend airlines outside of the companies that are on the main search engines (southwest, independance air, spirit, air tran etc).

for now, you can start by searching on mobissimo.com and kayak.com. right now is a good time to buy for high season travel in December.

chaplinesque

Sorry! I didn't know how protocol goes. Okay. I'm going from DFW (or DAL, whichever's cheaper) to Boston Logan Airport. I plan on going on 12/19 or 12/20 and I'd like to stay for six or seven days... again, whichever's cheaper. Thanks!

Dukey

GO HERE:

www.itasoftware.com

you can also use the "month-long" feature

It is an aggregator site so all airline combinations (except carriers such as Southwest) will be listed.

coldwar27

Since you are a student, are you aware of studentuniverse.com? I used it a few years ago for my flights to Paris and got a great rate. You do have to register but it is free. Good luck!

smartcookie

The absolute cheapest way would be to fly back ON December 25.

Other than that, go to mobissimo.com, kayak.com, southwest.com and see what the best rate you can find is.

Student travel sites are rarely cheaper than what you can find with some research online. But you can also check STA Travel just to compare. Whatever is the best price you will find now will be the best you can get. It won't go down for this holiday period as it gets closer to your dates, only up.

GBelle

If you're flying into Boston, you should know that Southwest doesn't go there, but you can fly into Providence and take a bus or train to Boston.

clarkgriswold

There's also coach bus service from Manchester NH into Boston now, though the round trip bus fare might eat away any savings over flying into Boston. The bonus with Southwest is that if the fare goes down, you can re-book your ticket at the lower price and have a credit good for a year that you can use or give(sell) to someone else flying Southwest.

Dec 19 and Dec 25 should be the lowest priced days for flying, for sure. Dec 20 might be okay early morning, Dec 26 and 27 might have a few low-fare openings but the weekends will definitely be off limits for low fares.

I'd wait until at least mid-October to purchase (unless you use Southwest) and keep checking itasoftware for any price changes. Check DAILY! It pays off! Last year we were watching a $440 fare to Hawaii and suddenly it dropped to $275. 24 hours later it was up to $395 already.

Also you should probably know that even though fares are "nonrefundable", if you change your mind within 24 hours of purchasing a ticket (with a credit card) you can cancel and get a full refund. If you want to change anything afterwards, however, it will cost you at least $100 and probably more.

smartcookie

the upside with southwest is if the price goes down, you can get the difference back in credit for future flight. however, for these dates, the prices will be only going up. i've been doing this for years now for flights on these dates. they never go down past september. all the flights are sold out, so there is no reason for them to decrease rates. the only flights that may go down in price are the legs flying ON Dec 25 since most people don't want to fly Christmas day.

easytraveler

OTOH: in the dead of winter I wouldn't want to be in Manchester, NH or Providence, RI, when my final destination is Boston. Too many chances of things going wrong and on a limited time schedule, I'd shoot to get into Boston, come h... or high water.

Which airline flies the most between Dallas and Boston? Check out their website.

Otherwise, the suggestion of megasites such as Sidestep or ita are good and worthwhile checking into.

Good luck! Be persistent and you'll be rewarded.

suze

I like to use Expedia for research because it easily shows the major airlines flights, which are nonstop, tranfer airport locations & timing of transfers (important in winter travel) etc.

If there's a price/routing I like then I go to the airline's own website.

Compare these to what you're found on the other budget and student options.

suze

With specific dates you need to fly and being the holidays, I would not want to wait too long before getting something. It's always a gamble. Sure you might find something cheaper, but you might also find a lot of full flights with discount seats already sold out.