Advertisements on the Web, television, and radio are frequently peppered with the claims of online travel agencies that promise the best deals and the most savings on airplane tickets and accommodations. "Best available fare!" is actually tricky wording that hides behind the meaning of "available." With so many choices of how to search for and purchase airplane tickets, understanding the optimal way to compare prices can be confusing unless you follow these easy steps.
Allow enough lead time. For U.S. domestic and Canadian travel, ticket prices are often best at least 21 days in advance, but sometimes won't differ too much in cost if tickets are purchased 7 to 14 days in advance or earlier than 21 days in advance. For international travel, search for tickets at least a month or so before departure; for exotic or unusual destinations, 60 to 90 days is ideal. (See "Tips" below for last-minute travel.)
Begin your list with the published airfares of airlines that service the destination. You can find this information directly from the airline's website, or through an online travel agency, such as Orbitz.com, which compiles lists of published fares for many destinations.
Search for the consolidator airfares. Airline consolidator companies buy airplane tickets in large volumes, and resell them for a discount. Online agencies that offer consolidator prices will explicitly advertise "consolidator fares" or "prices less than the airlines," and now use the term "white label fares." Travelocity only recently began offering consolidator fares.
List the consolidator fares found through online discounters. Different consolidators offer varying discounts, and there is no one single source that always produces the best deal in every airplane ticket search.
For international flights, call local travel agents and request a consolidator fare. Some travel agents are able to offer significant discounts on airplane tickets because of the agent's relationship with an airline.
Compare the fares of discount and nonlegacy airlines such as Southwest, RyanAir and JetBlue.
Search "bucket shops". For international destinations, bucket shops can often offer significant discounts, especially if the destination is unusual. Bucket shops are airline ticket retailers that buy from airline consolidators, and often specialize in travel to specific regions of the world.
Compare your findings. Be sure each of the fares you have listed includes all taxes and fees.
