ChocolateBabz

What is the best (ie cheapest) way to arrange internal flights. I have relatives who have just booked to go to New York next year (they haven't said when) who would like to come and visit us here in Houston. Is it cheaper to book in advance or wait and get a cheaper deal nearer the time ? Which sites do you guys recommend for booking ?

tonrob

Book now or wait? How long is a piece of string?

I'd check Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak etc. and then compare with a direct search on the best-priced airlines' own websites.

If you want to do a load of research then some great deals get posted/discussed on Flyertalk - saved a bunch by combing there regularly over the last year or so.

Might be helpful to know roughly when they intend to come though...

ChocolateBabz

Thanks - will try those - yes it would be nice if they had mentioned when they are coming in their e-mail - have 1 definite booking for next year (in-laws for a month) and 3 tentative enquiries. I figure either none of them will come or they will all want to come the same week .

Englishmum

There is a graph on http://www.kayak.com

which shows historically the best time to book a flight for the cheapest price and apparently the airlines tend to stick to that pattern as they are aware of supply and demand for every day of the year. Take a look at the graph and you can see the best fare trends.

You can sign up and get fare alerts.


I know that if you book with Orbitz they offer a refund if you book a flight and the price goes down for other Orbitz passengers after you've booked it:

http://www.orbitz.com/App/PerformMDL...OVI&type=oa_ft

Again you can sign up for offers and fare alerts:

http://www.orbitz.com

The good thing is that there are 3 area airports in New York: LaGuardia, JFK and Newark, and two airports in Houston: George Bush Int and Hobby - so there should be plenty of choices.

I have no idea where South West flies to or from as they don't appear on Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia etc. and operate on their own but I suspect they do fly between NY and Houston, so check out their website. The nicest domestic airline I've flown in the US is JetBlue, so check them out too (they have most of their flights out of JFK as they have their own terminal there).

Also you could try Cindy who posts on BE....she's an experienced travel agent whom has just become self-employed so maybe she could help!

chartreuse

I'll second that suggestion - 'cos you beat me to it.

Bob

Kayak and Cindy!

And depending on length of stay, what about the train?

penguinsix

I usually book 6-8 weeks for planned travel. Early enough to still get a paid in advanced fare, but late enough to catch any last minute sales. The one time I booked three months in advanced they cancelled the flight (i.e. did away with the whole route/time) and I showed up at the airport and had to wait 6 hours for the next plane.

Obitz, Expedia, etc. Might want to check jetblue.com & southwest.com as they don't always link to the other sites.