Last minute airfare bargains are infrequent but can still be found
Apr 12th, 2010, 05:25 AM
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Last minute airfare bargains are infrequent but can still be found
I thought I'd post a late follow up to a question I'd posed several months ago regarding the possibility of finding a decent fare if we waited until our usual 4 to 6 week out window of time before a trip rather than booking way, way ahead as many of you do. (Different strokes for different folks.) It is a strategy that has always worked for us in the past, but I wondered if it would work this year since we have all read about the reduced number of flights and the sharply increased fares.
I'd been periodically (not at all obsessively) monitoring fares for months, and as we all know they are really, really high this year. But, I did just find an excellent fare for this year with its very high prices. Mid-May to the beginning of June--$650 from Minneapolis to Shannon. But, we had date flexibility and European airport flexibility, so that made this a possibility for us. If you are someone who needs firm dates and a firm destination I wouldn't try this approach, but if you can flex it might work for you. I should add that this fare was only available for an evening before it jumped right up again by about $150. And, when I did seat selection, the flight was pretty full, so my guess is they dropped fares temporarily to get a few more bodies on the plane. If you are still looking, good luck!
I'd been periodically (not at all obsessively) monitoring fares for months, and as we all know they are really, really high this year. But, I did just find an excellent fare for this year with its very high prices. Mid-May to the beginning of June--$650 from Minneapolis to Shannon. But, we had date flexibility and European airport flexibility, so that made this a possibility for us. If you are someone who needs firm dates and a firm destination I wouldn't try this approach, but if you can flex it might work for you. I should add that this fare was only available for an evening before it jumped right up again by about $150. And, when I did seat selection, the flight was pretty full, so my guess is they dropped fares temporarily to get a few more bodies on the plane. If you are still looking, good luck!
Apr 12th, 2010, 05:33 AM
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A lot of airlines have spring sales around now. I've seen ads recently for several major airlines doing that. That seems a pretty good fare but this is the time spring fare sales are usually announced. They don't really help for people looking for summer fares, though, and that's the kind that are rarely on "sale". Air France has a Spring sale right now, also.
Apr 12th, 2010, 06:08 AM
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Sometimes those "sales" are for very restricted dates and times...IOW calling these 'sales' is as much a way of filling up very SELECTED flight dates as anything else. But obviously if it works for folks then it ends up being a good deal.
