Buying airline tickets....

[tanyaru 3]

Ok, so we weighted all the circumstances and deceided that we will be good to go on my side of the world by june...

We looked online and have discovered that student fares are more expensive then regular economy ones

Another trick we know is fly on Tue or Wed because it is supposedly cheaper.

Flying out of JFK appears to be more expensive in June then from Philadelphia or DC.

Also, we have visited multiple websites like Kayak, Cheapoair and etc and it seems like it is more expensive to buy from them then directly from the airline company...

Our Route is: DC - Ekaterinburg (Russia); Moscow (Russia) - DC

Oh, and we do prefer Lufthansa but open for suggestions, however, no Aeroflot.

Based on the info I provided plese advice any additional tricks we can use to overcome the total of $2550 (this is including taxes and fees) for 2.

PS. We are planning on purchasing in the end of Dec beggining of Jan.

Thank you.

[reeses16 8]

Call a travel agency too. A few times, I have been surprised to find that cheaper tickets were available through an agent than online. Its not the usual case, but its worth looking into.

[Nigerian Prince 0]

Ok, so we weighted all the circumstances and deceided that we will be good to go on my side of the world by june...

We looked online and have discovered that student fares are more expensive then regular economy ones

Another trick we know is fly on Tue or Wed because it is supposedly cheaper.

Flying out of JFK appears to be more expensive in June then from Philadelphia or DC.

Also, we have visited multiple websites like Kayak, Cheapoair and etc and it seems like it is more expensive to buy from them then directly from the airline company...

Our Route is: DC - Ekaterinburg (Russia); Moscow (Russia) - DC

Oh, and we do prefer Lufthansa but open for suggestions, however, no Aeroflot.

Based on the info I provided plese advice any additional tricks we can use to overcome the total of $2550 (this is including taxes and fees) for 2.

PS. We are planning on purchasing in the end of Dec beggining of Jan.

In most cases, January is NOT a peak season. Usually foreign flights are cheaper in January. I would suggest that you try the airline website directly. I would also try travel agents who may have wholesale prices as well as several airlines and go with the best deal.Good luck.

Thank you.

[Ling Ling 22]

Usually, London (Gatwick or Heathrow) as a hub to/from Europe and then purchasing tickets for your European leg through Opodo.co.uk will yield you a favourable fare. However, with the uncertainty of fuel prices, and flying during peak season, you may have already found your cheapest route today.

That said, I would caution you to insure that your tickets are EXCHANGEABLE in the event ticket prices plunge.

Usually there's a $100 per ticket fee, but if there's a significant reduction in the fare between now and June, you could still end-up saving money.

While I might shop prices through various internet agencies, I usually make my purchase directly with the airline for the convenience of making last minute or emergency changes. Some ticket outlets may not allow for changes, and others will put you through many hoops.

good luck!

[NickD 203]

Our local travel agency got on the internet just like we do while we were sitting getting bored. Said no thank you and left and did the misery ourselves. We can travel from Milwaukee, St. Paul, or Chicago, our local commuter airline is out of the question today, cheaper to take a cab. No wonder why they are going broke, but a few years ago, was only a couple of bucks extra for an international flight.

Orbitz and Expedia show the best rates for domestic flights with a range of dates, but not for international, have to guess at your own dates. A few years ago, wife preferred American to Venezuelan or Colombia, today they are crazy. Could always find a round trip ticket for around 600 bucks from any of our three international airports, today, it's a couple of thousand bucks, and that is not even riding in the plane! You have to hang unto the rudder.

Normally use Orbitz and Expedia just to find the best rates then buy my tickets directly to the airline. Wife was on her computer, I was on mine having a contest by picking different cities, airlines and dates. She won by finding 750 buck tickets using Air Canada from Milwaukee, heck of a lot cheaper, a thousand bucks for the both of us for any other flight we could find. So I went to the Air Canada site to check their rates for the same identical flight, was 500 bucks more, so for the first time, I sent my money to Expedia, it worked and we even got to ride inside of the plane.

I am up in the air as to whether you ticket includes airport tax, Cost me another 150 bucks just to leave Caracas, but was told would have cost me only 75 bucks if we left two days earlier, Chavez just increased this tax as a going away present to us.

Also there are the midnight specials I looked at that can save a couple of bucks but takes two or more days to get there. One flight I looked at from Chicage to Caracas actually had a stop over in Moscow! Ha, can look into that and just stop in Moscow, but not sure how you would get back.

Again, the world is going crazy.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I get better rates when I use a local travel agency versus going online. I did online a few times when I thought that travel agencies were more expensive. This is because I haven't use a travel agency yet. When I tried it, it came out to be $50-100 less than online prices for most times.

[NickD 203]

I get better rates when I use a local travel agency versus going online. I did online a few times when I thought that travel agencies were more expensive. This is because I haven't use a travel agency yet. When I tried it, it came out to be $50-100 less than online prices for most times.

So are you saying the trick is to find a good travel agency? LOL, good luck on that one. I have been spoiled, always had a gal at work do that for me, man she was good, so I am kind of new of buying airline tickets.

[Mononoke28 135]

We always start looking for tickets at least 6-9 months in advance almost every day at different times and track the averages. Once we know they price is at it's lowest, we buy them. Lots of work and research but it never fails.

Diana

[Teacher Mark 53]

I just got a ticket to Vietnam form Orbitz. What was my trick? Search, search and search some more. I disregarded the option to automatically search +/- days and did it manually. I also used the Tuesday/Wednesday rule. Amazingly enough mine ended up being a Saturday departure and Wednesday return, so that's not a hard and fast rule. I only found a few of what I refer to as "sweet spots" in the dates. I saved at least $400.00 from the next best price. I also came in $50.00 less than February, when I traveled there last. On that ticket I went straight through United after seeing the same itinerary on Expedia.

Try Best Travel Store. They have some decent prices to Asia.

[rebeccajo 14]

Surf prices on Friday night and compare those prices you might have seen during the week. Bargain fares are often posted late Friday but disappear the next day.

[tanyaru 3]

Thanks a lot everyone for your replies!!! Keep them coming. I have a month to learn more about ticket prices so I can get the best deal when we are ready to purchase.

[Jasman0717 9]

I gave Claudeth the money to buy the ticket in the Philippines. It was about $150 less than anything I could find.