Cheap air fare???

[Beeman]

I have absolutely no experience purchasing airline tickets. How do you go about finding the best deal on tickets? Wanting to fly to pretty much anywhere in FL from E TN.

[GoatsRus]

I use airfare watchdog, travelocity and kayak to check rates. I found that since I fly out of Nashville and not the Knoxville airport that Southwest airline usually has the best deal if I just go directly to their website.

You can also try going through AARP website. I'm going to FLA in feb and got a cheap rental car through them. SWA was the cheapest flight and is always direct. I think when you fly out of Knoxville (I've done it a few times), you usually have to make a stop somewhere.

[Windy in Kansas]

In addition to prices make sure you are aware of all of the associated fees such as fees at each airport even though you might not deplane. Can add up to as much as the ticket cost so look wisely at advertised prices.

[Stephen in SOKY]

If you're a AAA member, have them quote your flights. I've been pleasantly suprised by their lower rates.

[HermitJohn]

unfortunately just like lot things anymore, its all become a game with multitude of fees to make up for seemingly cheap fares. You just want to dope slap these marketing people that continually want to play games in order to make it impossible to compare total cost prices. No different really than offering the pound can of coffee with only 10oz inside though more complex for sure. In other words make it look like you are getting more for your money than you actually are. But just try to get a total out the door price quote, eveybody is wanting to make that next to impossible for any service anymore.

Hey maybe if you are lucky, you'll at least get pretty young gal to give you the pat down at airport security.... No, on second thought, probably more likely Nurse Diesel or some gay guy....

[MN Gardener]

I always check on of the "cheap" airfare websites, find out which airlines has the cheapest rates and then go directly to that airlines website. Most the time the flights are the same amount of money. If you go directly with the airline, if something happens (missed flight, etc) they are more apt to help you if you booked directly with them. A friend of mine misread her cheap ticket for a NWA flight as 6 pm instead of 6am. NWA helped them out and said that they would give her a break and not charge her for the new ticket but if they go with a cheap fare place are not usually as accomodating. Since it was the first time she made a mistake they were good to her, next time she had to pay fees to have thing redone.

I would also look at Allegient Airlines (sp?), they have great rates, but limited places that they go to.

[marvella]

Originally Posted by Beeman

I have absolutely no experience purchasing airline tickets. How do you go about finding the best deal on tickets? Wanting to fly to pretty much anywhere in FL from E TN.

http://www.allegiantair.com/?gclid=C...FRSdnAod-wpcJw

you might want to look at allegiant airlines, even tho i will never buy tickets from them again.:-)

they only fly from certain airports to certain cities, but have direct lines from knoxville to several FL cities. the prices are really good even after they add on a bunch of fees. usually, it saves about $200 to fly from nashville instead of knoxville. it's cheaper to fly out of an international airport insted of regional.

for example, my DS and DIL flew from knoxville to orlando last week, including a room and rental car for 3 days and it only cost a little over $550 for the whole package.

now, why i will never use them again? the reason my son made the trip is because i ended up giving them the package i had bought the year before and didn't use.

i had bought the tickets through allegiant, then ended up having to cancel the trip. i had bought the insurance and knew i would have to pay a fee to cancel but figured i would get the rest of my money back.

nope.

they would only give me credit for future flights. i have no desire to go to florida but if i didn't use it within a year, i lost the whole thing.

my DS and DIL were thrilled with their xmas present this year. i couldn't even sell the tickets for half what i paid for them and ended up giving it away. there is a lot of criticism online if you look at people's experiences.

but if you don't want to drive to a major aiport and cheap seats are more important than anything, you might want to use them.

usually, i go to travelocity. there is a place that lets you put in your trip plans and will notify you when the price goes down. I start looking early, about 6 months in advance and then basically stalk it until i find a price i am willing to pay. i've gotten some really good prices like that, including $129 RT from n'ville to SF a couple years ago, then $156 RT from N'ville to vegas. there are good deals out there if you look.

right now i'm stalking a trip from ET to spokane and then drive to see glacier and yellowstone NP's, one of these days.

[gottahaveagoat]

I would be happy to see if I can find you something. I will not charge you to look or to even purchase. I make my money directly from the airlines. It does not matter which airline you take either. I'm a travel agent and would be happy to do this. You just need to tell me which airport you would leave from, where you want to go, how many people and the dates. As soon as I know this I will price it out for you.

[hiswife]

there is an airline called "Allegiant" (allegiantair.com) that has major hubs in I think Orlando and Las Vegas. From my recollection they only fly in and out of little tiny regional airports to both Orlando and Vegas, and sometimes have rates of $19 each way plus taxes, depending on when and where. Try them to see if they fly out of somewhere close to you!

duh sorry I hadn't read the whole thread and see that they were already suggested, sorry!

[Ravenlost]

You might want to check www.airtran.com too. This is the airline I usually use to fly from Memphis to Dallas.

[gunsmithgirl]

I also really like airfare watchdog. Sign up for the e-mail and they will send you flight pricing on the locations you pick daily. You would be surprised how much the price differs day to day and week to week. Sometimes you can find great deals with them if you are patient and willing to wait for the right deal.

[Natural Beauty Farm]

Hey Beeman if you are around Tri-cities use Allegiant air if you book at least a week in advance its only $20 each way, they fly Mon and Fri

[Beeman]

I'd much rather fly from tri-cities if possible. I really don't care where in FL as long as it's near central FL.

I can now see why I was never really interested in flying anywhere, Between stories you hear and the TV commercials you just know you're getting screwed before you start. It sure seems a lot like buying a used car.