USA Trip USA May 2014 - Internal Flights
 

Looking for travellers with experience in booking internal flights around the USA.
We are travelling May 2014 (4 of us) have our MEL - NYC flights locked in but I need to book 3 internal flights.
The prices look pretty good at the moment - should I be locking them in now or wait till closer to the dates. our itenerary is set and accom all booked.

If we book them now - does that lock in the price we pay at the time. Any booking engines to avoid?

Should I be sticking with one carrier or just get the best deal on each leg?

Also any suggestions on airlines that may be more reliable than others in general - I understand things happen however, there are a couple of Aussie Airlines I would suggest to AVOID - so there would be some in the USA.

Our flights will be
LGA (La guardia) - BNA (Nashville)
BNA - MSY (New Orleans)
MSY- LAS (Las Vegas)

Thanks

Southwest Airline at www,southwest.com is our economy airline. Low fares and no baggage or change fees. Southwest makes all the routes with non-stop flights. You are about one month early to book May flights. Check the web site now to compare current April fares with what you are finding elsewhere to get an idea if Southwest will save you money.

@stumrworks73 Thankyou, very helpful Reply :)

We used Southwest Airlines several years ago on our first trip to the US and loved them. However when we did a trip last November I found they were no longer the cheapest. We flew San Francisco - New Orleans, New Orleans - New York. I used Kayak to find the cheapest flights, however it still pays to cheap the Southwest fares as they do not show up on Kayak.

We are from New Zealand, and the thing that we didn't like about the internal flights is that you were never seated together unless you paid an extra fee for preferential seating.

South West does not have a charge for one checked bag either, whereas a lot of the other airlines do, so need to take that into account when comparing fares.

You can also go to South West Airlines website and download Ding which lets you know when special fares come up. The good thing about South West Airlines too is that if the fares go down you can rebook a cheaper fare without a change fee, and get a credit for the higher fare. The downside to SouthWest is there is no reserved seating, you need to check in 24 hours before hand to get into the A boarding. A good idea to read up about it.

Nelsonian. Thankyou!!

Two, not one, free checked bags on SW. It is not true that you can never sit together without paying more; but you do need to check in 24 hours ahead.

When you say the prices look pretty good, what are the prices you are finding? We could probably tell you if they are a good deal or likely to go down.

Southwest is talking about possibly adding some fees, but for now the combo of 2 free checked bags and no change fee is hard to beat. However, a lot of their flights involve a stop somewhere. I don't know why it was stated that they make all the routes with non-stop flights. It's rare that I've not made at least one stop when flying with them.

It was stated that the routes listed above are served by non-stop flights on Southwest because the routes listed above are served by non-stop flights on Southwest.

Nearly every airline in the US besides Southwest does provide reserved seats. Southwest is the exception, not the rule.

There is no need to book each of these flights on the same airline - use whichever one you prefer, and in my experience prices on Southwest are no better or worse than other airlines on the same routes.

The cost of checked bags can make a difference if you use other airlines, so be sure to factor that in if you are making decisions based on price.

Be aware of the TIMING of the possible Southwest flights. Sometimes Southwest might have one or two non-stop flights between cities and the rest of the flights involve a change.

The route LGA-BNA is the perfect example. Of the seven flights only two are non-stop.

BUT the no charge for change REALLY could be of help by flying Southwest. If the date is locked in,then it works fine for whatever airline--plus baggage charges, of course.

I use Travelocity and Expedia quite often--these are reputable online agencies. I do not usually find Southwest to be the cheapest from my home city, even considering the baggage fees, but I always check them just in case, since they don't participate in any online aggregators.

I always compare prices on one of the resellers like Kayak or Expedia, then go the the airlines to book. I find that in case of a problem it is easier dealing with the airline rather than a third party and that they always match the price or even have a better rate. If you sign up they will send you e mails when there is a sale.

The problem is that Southwest doesn't use the GDS services accessed by Expedia or Kayak, so to compare Southwest to other airlines you have to go to Southwest's own site and then to another site to do side-by-side comparisons. Likewise, Southwest doesn't do any interline ticketing or bag checks.

Southwest's prices can be lower, the same, or higher than other carriers', even when adding in bag charges. It's very much a case of flight-by-flight analysis, not something you can generalize about.

Not to change your plans, but have you looked at the possibility of driving between Nashville and New Orleans? If (as it sounds) you're music lovers, then you could add a day or two to your itinerary and make it a fascinating trip. Go from Nashville to Memphis (Graceland, Beale Street, Sun Records, etc.) then down through the Mississippi Delta to Clarksdale (Delta Blues Museum, Abe's Barbecue - at the Crossroads of the Blues) then either via the Natchez Trace or right down the Mississippi through Vicksburg. It's a wonderful drive, and the 9 hours or so behind the wheel (vs. basically a day of airport yoga, blah blah) might be of real interest. With 4 people a one-way car hire will probably be price-competitive with flying, and you'll see a whole lot more.

Just to clarify we had no problems getting seated together on Southwest, it was other airlines like Delta and AA where we had the problem. We actually used different airlines to get the cheapest flights, and some had a stop.

Have a great trip Tucks, I love Gardyloo's suggestion to drive from Nashville to New Orleans.

Southwest+no change fees, free luggage checking, excellent on time performance.

Wow, eveyone has been so great thankyou.
^WhereAreWe - So far the best prices have been a multi - trip fare with Delta $560 ish plus $75 baggage for the 3 flights each - however I was not impressed with their MSY-LAS connection times =long stopovers in LAX or IAH. So was looking for an alternative there.

I had not heard of Southwest before yesterday (as they were not coming up in the search engines ^explaned above).



Already it looka like they will come in around $500 inc baggage - I have to wait another month for our dates but I did a test for a March departure.

^Garyloo - I know I know :) it has been in the plans, out of the plans haha!! Final thoery was 5 nights in Nashville with a hire car (a bucket list item on its own - as you know you guys drive on the wrong side of the road :)) we will do a BIG day trip to Memphis and perhaps another just exploring. But we have much to do in Nashville and a birthday to celebrate - so that may slow us down for a day after that. Then only 3 nights in New Orleans (a small taste with fingers crossed to return one day for longer). In saying that I wished I had found you a few months age as you are the first person to make the drive sound of any interest - everyone else had said forget it. Thanks anyway.

So I will keep at it, but have taken on all the above - Southwest are looking the goods though ATM - and their customer reviews hit all the others out of the park to top it off.

Oops!! As a matter of interest, Southwest Offer for an extra $12.50 - Express Check In - Has any one used this? Does it work? and is it worth the extra? - onthe surface it seems like only a little extra $$ for alot less hassle whilst travelling.

Note: We could not care less if we sit together on the flights or not - it may actually me a good thing after a couple of weeks together - Its just a to b necessity for us.

I believe the internal flight market is different than most of the rest of the world in that there are no truly awful airlines.

First, there is a minimum required space for each passenger by US law. More importantly, even the very worst of the US domestic airlines - unlike some countries airlines in Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East - are in a category I feel are best described as "bearable".

If you can live with "bearable", then just get the cheapest one (overall costs - count all the fees that will apply to you) - that has a schedule that works for you.