Airline ticket advise

[mathnerd]

I'm hoping somebody here has worked for an airline or knows how to navigate their fare schedules. I'm hopelessly confused and frustrated and I don't know who to go about finding out what I need to know.

I need to fly from City A to City B, arriving in City B early in the morning (which will likely require departing City A late evening the day before), and then leaving City B to go back to City A that same evening. I'm broke, so I need fares to be as low as possible. I'm flexible on the dates of travel, though I do have to be there on a weekday. This needs to happen sometime in the next month.

I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason to the fares. What days are generally cheapest to fly? Is there a certain time frame I should book? Like is it cheaper to book two weeks in advance, or three weeks, or whatever? My brain hurts. Thanks.

[EricKei]

just a civilian here -- So, just some generic stuff that may help.

Supposedly, the sweet spot is somewhere around 6-8 weeks out; short of that, book as soon as you reasonably can. It is theoretically possible to score a great deal in the last few days, but not worth the significant risk that you won't be able to score a deal, and end up paying much, much more.

Avoid smaller airports, such as regionals, as they have less air traffic and will cost more.

If browsing through Expedia or Orbitz or the like, clear your browser cache first before hitting each site (just bookmark the itinerary pages for route you like, and maybe print them out); this supposedly makes it harder for them to track what OTHER travel sites you've been/where you are, and may reveal lower rates. Once you've checked those, also check with the airline directly to see if you can get a better deal on a no-frills flight.

Mid-week is generally cheaper, if the dates are flexible; ditto flights at unusual times (before 5am or after 9/10pm, I think??) if you have leeway on times.

[csquared]

Tuesday - Thursday are the cheapest. All the business travelers head out Sunday/Monday and return Friday/Saturday. Vacationers head out Friday/Saturday and return Sunday/Monday.

21+ days out is usually your best deal.

Unless you are flying West coast to East coast, you probably won't find an overnight. Business travelers like the early morning flights and later returns (first out, last back). Early afternoon tends to be cheaper.

Call the airlines. They are desperate for business.

travel web sites typically can't give a better price than the airlines themselves, but they can combine airlines for a better price. i.e. Fly airline A out and airline B back.

Unfortunately, it looks like your requirements are putting you in a premium ticket. Don't wait too long or you will lose your best discount.

You can search for Hidden Fare, but make sure you know how to play the game.

[mathnerd]

Thanks! I've played around with some dates, but I'll make some additional changes based on what you guys have said to see if that changes the fares at all.

Also, lucky for me, there are some available flights that will get me there early in the morning, but I do have to leave the night before. That's fine. I can sleep (sort of) during the lengthy layovers and on the flights themselves.

[taxguykarl]

Consider signing for fare alerts for your destination city.

[Jester]

Or you could always ask a friend who happens to be somewhat legendary for finding good fares to do the searching for you. Though it is possible you forgot or didn't even know that said friend has such a talent.