Cheap airfare

EvilGenius · Ville Supporter Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 394

I don't travel often, and am having trouble getting a reasonable rate on a flight out to San Diego to preview my new school (and choose faculty to work with). Does anyone know of ways to save money? I've tried all the regular online sites (Priceline, CheapTickets, Expedia, Travelocity) and the cheapest price I can find on a ticket is $596.80.

I need to be leaving Cleveland or Akron on April 1st in the morning (or March 31 after 5:00 PM) to San Diego, coming back before midnight on Sunday April 3rd. If anyone knows tips that work in general or can help me out with these specific dates, that would be sweet.
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MunkeyEye · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject:

Hey, how about -->Orbitz??

ohh... nm.

but seriously, I think if you can avoid weekday flight, that might have some savings since those are catered more towards business travellers. The other way is to look for red-eye flights that operate during unearthly hours.

s.Squirrel · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:22 pm Post subject:

Try going straight through southwest airlines.
They have some good prices on non-refundable tickets.
You also might need to bend a little on your times or not fly on the weekend. The flying on sunday thing might be the kicker.
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Stevo · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:59 pm Post subject:

Just run really fast.

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DaKon · Ville Supporter Joined: 19 Feb 2002 Posts: 2342

487.00

http://www.hotwire.com/air/results.jsp?lid=air/searching.jsp:search:loc:0:search

Just a quick search.
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Jfet Zener · Server Admin Joined: 19 Feb 2003 Posts: 3353

if you have certain dates you HAVE to be there, its alot harder to get cheap flights. the best way is to be flexible in your days by 1-2 on each side. my mom is coming out to visit me next week, and if she flew friday and monday, the ticket was something like 400, but wednesday through monday was ~115.

EvilGenius · Ville Supporter Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 394

Thanks for the responses guys. Unfortunately, I can't be flexible on the dates. Every day I leave sooner is a day of missed classes, likewise for every day I get back later. While missing class would be sweet, I can't swing that with my profs. Plus, I'd end up paying for my own room on those nights. And if I arrive later or try and return earlier, I'd be missing out on the reason for going.

Knowing which ones I need to get, do you guys know how far in advance ordering thr tickets is good? Like, should I get them today (3 weeks in advance) or wait until 1 week in advance, or something in between? Also, is there likely to be more of a price fluctuation at Travelocity, or at America West Airlines? (EDIT: Or Southwest, who is like $40 cheaper, if I get a non-refundable ticket at least 7 days in advance.)
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