Monday January 10 , 2011
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Flying the frugal skies takes patience and timing

By Joshua Freed and Harry R. Weber, Airline Writers

Want to fly cheap? Time to break some bad habits.

As the economic slump continues and both business and leisure travel decline, fares are getting cheaper as airlines try to fill seats. A round trip ticket from San Francisco to Boston, for instance, was selling on February fourth for $238, down from $400 on November first. Even with such bargains, however, travelers need to know a few tricks to get the very best prices.

First, Don't Hurry
Matthew D. Meyer sometimes spends hours researching fares on line. Knowing what a ticket usually sells for allows him to spot cheap fares almost immediately...

Weber sets up email alerts for prices on the route he's shopping for at fare-watching sites like Kayak,com or Farecast.com. He finds out whether discount carrier Southwest Airlines Company flies a route. He also checks the ticket on booking sites like Travelocity or Orbitz.

Weber starts shopping as far in advance as he can, but doesn't book right away. He considers it safe to book between one and three months ahead of time. Legacy carriers generally show their schedules for about eleven months. The window is shorter for discount carriers. Southwest's window is currently six months, and Air Tran's is nine months.

The 24-year-old Chicago college student and software programmer once flew for only $9 on Spirit Airlines from Chicago to Ft Lauderdale, FL, and says the most he has ever paid for a ticket is $240.

Having a price in mind is good advice. Timing helps, also.

If you tend to make plans during weekend downtime, reconsider. The best time to shop is late Monday or Early Tuesday, some fare experts say. Airlines often start fare sales on Sunday night or Monday morning, and Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com. Those sales alone are fine if they include the flight you want. But other carriers generally match the fare sale by Monday evening or Tuesday morning, giving you choices.

Seaney said Wednesday's are generally the cheapest day to fly. Tuesdays and Saturdays are also good days to fly because demand is low and the airlines are trying to fill seats.

It's natural for travelers to book their flight when the weekday is done or the kids are asleep. But the airlines are posting fares on their own schedule. They file fares in the computer system that shares them among Web sites, and travel agents three times each weekday - 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturdays and Sundays.

Former New Yorker, Jill Got of Providence, RI, spent two and a half weeks checking American Airlines' Web site several times a day before snagging a $109 round trip ticket from New York-LaQuardia to Atlanta. She said it was only available for about three hours before jumping back up to $250.

"I just decide what I want to pay for something, and I just keep clicking away until I get it," she said.

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