Found a fantastic deal BOS-SFO yesterday and of course I DIDN'T jump on it on time. Three airlines were offering $167 total on expedia, orbitz, etc, and direct through their own websites. Now that I'm ready to book this morning, all their prices have gone up. Delta is now offering a similar fare ($181), but the flight times are not as convenient to me and the flights are not direct as the others were. How is that that three airlines (United, American, American West) all happen to have the same sale fares and then end them simultaneously???? Is there any chance those fares could come back? Trying to decide if I should spend more money for convenient flights or try waiting it out. Travel is not until May. I also thought that Wednesday was generally a good day for sale fares? Thanks!

Fares are constantly monitored by competitive carriers and it doesn't take long for pricing signals to spread on a given route. That is why when I see "XYZ Airlines" offering a fantastic fare to a given destination that interests me, I will frequently pull up my own preferred carrier's fares and find something very similar. This doesn't always hold true, but it happens often enough that it's worth looking. Fares change constantly and if the cheap seats sell out on one carrier, then there is little reason for a competitor to continue offering to match a deal that is de facto unavailable anyway. There are no guarantees that a given fare won't be gone with the next refresh of the webpage so when you see what you want at a great price, it's important to pull the trigger and not assume that the same deal will be available over a period time. It may not be. It may come back and it may not. It's like the stock market or the exchange rate.

Looks like SFO-BOS is a very popular route on this site

Most likely I will be taking an overnight flight, I'm thinking of buying airline socks so the ankles won't swell (have yet to find them!), water, snacks...

And of course I need to watch the fairs for a while, flying in mid-October.

Any advices from more experienced fliers?

Watching for October? You should be ready to buy now. What are your travel dates?

FainaAgain, to eyeball SFO-BOS fares quickly, go to:

http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap...ce=TRAVELOCITY

When you enter BOS for the origin airport, you will see SFO as one of the destinations with fares beginning at $203. Click on San Francisco and you'll see the various carriers and fares; then drill in with your planned dates. It's a great tool.

HP (America West), UA & AA all have mid-October SFO-BOS for $256, tax included for almost every flight, every day. If you are certain about your travel dates, I don't see what you're waiting for. It's unlikely this fare will go down significantly. And I know with AA for many fares, you can get a voucher for future travel on them, if you find a lower fare later on. Only bad thing about this non-stop is that it's on a 757 with "less room throughout coach".

You can get the $99 each way fare for Boston to Oakland for some days in October (e.g. 13th and 20th). Comes out to $216.70 total roundtrip, nonstop each way. Ask for an exit row when you check in and you will think you are in business class.

doh

That's on jetBlue.

Doesn't Southwest fly between those two?

gnr

Southwest doesn't fly to SFO anymore. SJC and OAK only now. And Southwest doesn't fly to BOS. PVD or MHT only.

Thank you all! For now I know only my departure date. I'll see if I can get jetblue for that. Still working on the return date, will know by the end of the week hopefully. It was a trip in question till now.

I checked the southwest fares the other day. With taxes and fees the $99 "internet special" fare for MHT to OAK comes out to a r.t. ticket price of 243.10 and that is with a connection at BWI each way.

btw, to get the $216 jetBlue ticket price you would have to book online (you would pay $10 more if you did it over the phone)