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#1
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ONT/SNA to FWA
I'm trying to plan a trip to FWA this month. I live closest to ONT
but I'd also consider leaving from SNA. I'm trying to get a cheap ticket AND arrive on the same day I leave and arrive by mid-evening. So I have a couple of questions. 1. Am I really going to get a lower price by using something like Expedia or Orbitz as opposed to going directly to an airline? What's the best way to get a cheap ticket? It's cheaper from LAX but I don't want to have to get to LAX early in the morning. 2. Will I save money if I ask the airline for a route that is different than those they offer when I do a search? For example, Orbitz has me going to Atlanta to get to FWA. That's a long trip in coach and not very direct. I'm puzzled why, if I choose ONT as a starting point, I can't get UAL to show a route that goes to, say, DEN to ORD to FWA, instead of really odd connections. Why aren't eh routes more straightforward? I know about hub cities and therefore I'm not surprised that AA wants to go through DFW, but why would UAL not go more directly? Thanks. |
#2
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ONT/SNA to FWA
The Litwaks wrote:
I'm trying to plan a trip to FWA this month. I live closest to ONT but I'd also consider leaving from SNA. I'm trying to get a cheap ticket AND arrive on the same day I leave and arrive by mid-evening. So I have a couple of questions. 1. Am I really going to get a lower price by using something like Expedia or Orbitz as opposed to going directly to an airline? It is sometimes possible to find lower fares at sites other than the airline's official site. Airlines sometimes guarantee their site has the lowest fares. Additionally, you sometimes get perks for booking at the airline's site and have to pay a fee for booking at other locations. remember: ymmv What's the best way to get a cheap ticket? midweek travel sat night stay off season consolidators It's cheaper from LAX but I don't want to have to get to LAX early in the morning. How much cheaper? How much earlier? 2. Will I save money if I ask the airline for a route that is different than those they offer when I do a search? For example, Orbitz has me going to Atlanta to get to FWA. That's a long trip in coach and not very direct. I'm puzzled why, if I choose ONT as a starting point, I can't get UAL to show a route that goes to, say, DEN to ORD to FWA, instead of really odd connections. Why aren't eh routes more straightforward? I know about hub cities and therefore I'm not surprised that AA wants to go through DFW, but why would UAL not go more directly? Did you search by fare or schedule? You can always use "multicity' on some web site to choose an intermediate city. Remember that an airline's hub might not have flights to all the places you want to go. I don't know if UA flies nonstop from ONT to DEN or ORD, so that might be an issue. |
#3
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ONT/SNA to FWA
The Litwaks wrote:
I'm trying to plan a trip to FWA this month. I live closest to ONT but I'd also consider leaving from SNA. I'm trying to get a cheap ticket AND arrive on the same day I leave and arrive by mid- evening. ONT will be cheaper than SNA by something like $100 for most fares. Same day arrival isn't a problem, but you can save a bit by taking a red-eye. It all depends on how much your sleep is worth. You also might consider flying into SBN, TOL, or perhaps even IND. There are even lower fares, perhaps up to an additional $100 lower, and if you need a rental car anyway, the 1.5 to 2.5 hour drive might work. South Bend has round trip fares as low as $277 out of ONT, and IND has fares as low as $188. 1. Am I really going to get a lower price by using something like Expedia or Orbitz as opposed to going directly to an airline? What's the best way to get a cheap ticket? It's cheaper from LAX but I don't want to have to get to LAX early in the morning. Most United flights are routed through LAX using a puddle jumper from ONT. That is an alternative. The travel web sites will not normally be lower than the airlines, but there are exceptions. This is because the airlines supposedly have the same prices as the travel sites, and you have to pay a fee on the travel sites. That said, I have ocassionally found a lower fare on a travel site. This seems to be an issue of timing, where the airline has just jacked up the fare to increase revenue, and the increase hasn't yet found its way to the other computer systems. In one case, I saved about $700 on a full fare flight between the east and west coasts. You have to check a number of sources to be sure. 2. Will I save money if I ask the airline for a route that is different than those they offer when I do a search? For example, Orbitz has me going to Atlanta to get to FWA. That's a long trip in coach and not very direct. I'm puzzled why, if I choose ONT as a starting point, I can't get UAL to show a route that goes to, say, DEN to ORD to FWA, instead of really odd connections. The travel sites are wired to get the lowest fares. They don't show all routings if the fare is much higher, if there are long layovers, or if the routing isn't convenient. UAL does have flights from ONT that connect through DEN and ORD, which you should be able to find if you look on the United web site. You can also call their reservation line, since the agent has more flexibility in looking for connections than you will find on their web site. You shouldn't have to ask for any particular routing, as a good agent will easily find the best ones. |
#4
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ONT/SNA to FWA
I'm puzzled why, if I choose ONT as a starting point, I can't get UAL to
show a route that goes to, say, DEN to ORD to FWA, instead of really odd connections. Why aren't eh routes more straightforward? If you want this kind of information, use www.itasoftware.com , it is not a booking engine...rather it is a flight schedule and pricing site. It will give you bukoo options for flights and routing that you can print and then call a TA or airline with the itinerary that you choose. It also has a choice that will show you a calendar with day by day pricing for your itinerary so that you can choose which day to fly....ie, for many of us that means "cheapest". Once you know the cheapest days to fly for a given month, you can go to the airlines website and enter the days shown....it will then show you the fares that you can pick from. I did this recently for a trip SDF-PBI....ita showed me the best days...I chose and went to Delta.com and booked for the exact fare shown on ita. Using the airline's website to actually book often garners an extra 1000 ff miles, too. |
#5
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US to Europe, and ITA site
In article ,
wrote: If you want this kind of information, use www.itasoftware.com , it is not a booking engine...rather it is a flight schedule and pricing site. It will give you bukoo options for flights and routing that you can print and then call a TA or airline with the itinerary that you choose. Indeed a very neat and useful site (and fast) (and you can get official fare rules for each flight, which can be very informative). Tests for SFO to Munich in April seem to show that fares are distinctly lower on Tues thru Thurs (and sometimes Mon) than on Fri thru Sun (and sometimes Mon). Is this a more or less general rule for flights US to Europe? And does it mean possibly less crowded planes? -- or just equally crowded, but less revenue for the airline? |
#7
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US to Europe, and ITA site
AES wrote:
In article , wrote: If you want this kind of information, use www.itasoftware.com , it is not a booking engine...rather it is a flight schedule and pricing site. It will give you bukoo options for flights and routing that you can print and then call a TA or airline with the itinerary that you choose. Indeed a very neat and useful site (and fast) (and you can get official fare rules for each flight, which can be very informative). Tests for SFO to Munich in April seem to show that fares are distinctly lower on Tues thru Thurs (and sometimes Mon) than on Fri thru Sun (and sometimes Mon). Is this a more or less general rule for flights US to Europe? And does it mean possibly less crowded planes? -- or just equally crowded, but less revenue for the airline? This is a general rule for domestic US flights. Midweek fares are often lower. |
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