I have just been reading my Fodors? newsletter. On the question of getting cheap flights, one piece of advice is:

?Get creative about where you depart from as well. You'll tend to find better prices on flights out of larger airports than smaller ones, so it may be worth the extra drive -- and the heavier crowds -- to forgo a facility like Hartford's Bradley International and book a flight out of one of the New York City area airports or Boston's Logan Airport.?

Whilst another says,

And find out if either your destination or departure city has a "secondary" airport. Because airlines are charged less to use these smaller airports -- which are often less crowded, newer, and more pleasant than major airports -- those savings are passed on to travelers.?

Am I the only one confused?

The two statements do sound a bit contradictory, but it doesn't really matter.

Bottom line - check flight prices out of and into ALL airports near your departure and arrival cities.

It doesn't get cheaper then this:

$499 -- Paris in Spring (April-June), 6 Nights & Air
http://www.travelzoo.com/Top20.asp?id=100120958
Source: Go-Today.com

So, sign up for "This Week's Top 20"
TRAVELZOO !!!

Both are true

Cheaper flights can often be found by traveling to a larger airport. For example going to Kansas city from Des Moines, Iowa.

Cheaper flights can often be found by switching to a smaller secondary airport. For example Midway instead of O'Hare.

Keith

It all depends on where you live. I livein Portland, OR. PDX is not a hub for any major airline so there are rarely deals flying out of PDX. There are no smaller "secondary" airports nearby either. Often it is worth the 3 hour drive to get a cheap flight out of SeaTac. I snagged a $300 RT flight from Seattle to London for next March.

If you live in LA, on the other hand, the world is your oyster. Lots of great deals out of LAX, plus about 5 secondary airports with cheap flights, especially within the US.

I agree with being flexible. I am willing to drive to Tampa, Miami or Ft Lauderdale to get either cheaper or direct flights. I live in Ft Myers area and that airport is not a bargain.

I don't think they are really that contradictory if you kind of know what they are talking about. The cheaper prices at major airports refers to going to big cities with a lot more flights, as they showed. The cheaper flights for secondary airports refers to smaller airports in the far burbs (usually) but still for those big major cities (ie, Beauvais and Paris). Those secondary airports mentioned isn't a reference to small airports in small cities with little air traffic. Also, the secondary airport reference is referring to discount no-frills airlines, not the biggies (ie, Easyjet, Ryanair, etc). I don't know of examples like that in the US, except it used to be (not sure now) that flights from John Wayne Airport in Orange Co. could be cheaper than from LAX, as I used to live there.

BTW, I forgot to ask -- what Fodors newsletter are you talking about? Is this a hard copy of something you subscribe to?

Judyrem, I regularly visit Englewood near you. To get good fares and decent tiimes, I have flown into Ft Myers, Sarasota & Tampa. Sometimes flying into one airport and out at a different one.

Keith

I agree "what Fodor's newsletter?"

Any chance you are talking about the FROMMER'S newsletter?

Wrong company here, mate.

Best wishes,

Rex