Good website for airfare shopping with flexible travel dates?
Feb 27th, 2013, 12:44 PM
#1
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Good website for airfare shopping with flexible travel dates?
Shoppping for a good deal on airfare to Germany in mid June. Dates and even arriving airports are somewhat flexible. What's a good website that allows you to plug in flexible dates when you search? There are so many out there it is overwhelming.
Feb 27th, 2013, 01:09 PM
#2
Use the 30-day fare search function (lowest fare calendar) at http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
You can also have it search multiple airports, although you'll need to learn the airport codes. For example if you're traveling from Chicago, use ORD as the origin, and something like FRA,DUS,BER,MUC as the destinations (separated by a comma) and ITA will find you the lowest published fares either for round trips or open-jaws.
You can't book using ITA, but when you find an itinerary that works, you can usually get the same prices by going either to the airlines' websites, or - very carefully - putting the same information (flight dates, flight numbers etc.) into an online agency like Expedia.
FWIW, ITA is the "engine" behind many online booking sites like Kayak or Orbitz.
You can also have it search multiple airports, although you'll need to learn the airport codes. For example if you're traveling from Chicago, use ORD as the origin, and something like FRA,DUS,BER,MUC as the destinations (separated by a comma) and ITA will find you the lowest published fares either for round trips or open-jaws.
You can't book using ITA, but when you find an itinerary that works, you can usually get the same prices by going either to the airlines' websites, or - very carefully - putting the same information (flight dates, flight numbers etc.) into an online agency like Expedia.
FWIW, ITA is the "engine" behind many online booking sites like Kayak or Orbitz.
Mar 11th, 2013, 12:57 PM
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Never rely on just one web site. It's well worth the time taken on line to make sure you really are getting the best deal
I recently flew UK to Boston MA. Travelocity and Kayak were both returning almost identical prices of about £499. Expedia returned a price of £303. The flight was with Air France and was a delight. With two of us travelling we saved the equivalent of almost $600
I recently flew UK to Boston MA. Travelocity and Kayak were both returning almost identical prices of about £499. Expedia returned a price of £303. The flight was with Air France and was a delight. With two of us travelling we saved the equivalent of almost $600
Mar 14th, 2013, 10:26 AM
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I was very happy the day I found http://skyscanner.com/
Because you don't have to specify your airport, and you can do a blanket search for a year.
You can't book directly off ITA Matrix though.
You would still need to redo a search on the booking sites.
Because you don't have to specify your airport, and you can do a blanket search for a year.
You can't book directly off ITA Matrix though.
You would still need to redo a search on the booking sites.
