There seems to be a plethora of sites willing to help you find airline deals. Some deal with air/car/hotel packages, others provide brand name fares, and still others display last minute deals to places you may not want to go. After booking 40 one-way flights around the world, I’d like to share what worked the best for us when we dealt with so many different cities.
- Check Expedia or Travelocity for the best fare city to city. You can assume these are brand name airlines, and it gives you a benchmark for fares.
- Then check Air Ninja for a listing of discount airlines that fly that route.
- Now that you have a good idea of who flies there, check the discount airlines’ sites for the best deal.
Though Air Ninja is *almost* our favorite Ninja, we often found its suggestions to be our best option, and for far less money especially in Europe. This led us to believe that British Airways passengers must be very loyal to their brand, because they certainly are paying significantly more in many cases.
Once in a while, the brand name airline does have the best fare, but we buy it on their site, not Expedia where we’ll pay extra fees. In some areas of Asia, like China and Vietnam, checking with your hotel booking agent may find you better fares as well. I always tried to do my homework before booking, and in 2006 it paid off in savings in the thousands.
