Where do you find cheap airfare?

I'm trying to fleece the airlines for once, instead of the other way 'round.

I know about all the major travel sites... priceline, orbitz, expedia, etc. Just wondering if there's any unknown goldmines out there that could help us little people fight back.

If not, my next step will be to locate and kidnap William Shatner.

 

www.kayak.com

 

American Airlines updates their systems between midnight and 3 a.m. It's proven you can get discount fares during that period.

Also, if there's a flight you like best, booking with the airline is generally best. Especially if you need to book a hotel room as well. Most of their vacation companies will essentially throw the room in for free if you're a FF. Especially American.

 

Southwest has been having some good deals on their web site lately. Lots of sub-$100 fares (one-way). One offer was a one-day only deal, but it was a cross-country flight to San Francisco for two people, only $430 round trip.

 

http://us.lastminute.com/index.html

 

www.airfarewatchdog.com is a big help.

FYI: Kayak.com, I've found, is (somewhat regularly) being beaten by the airlines' own Web sites these days. Used to be the best site out there, but I'm finding better deals on Southwest.com and Airtran.com. Airlines are getting desperate, and they're lowering their prices like crazy. Doesn't always show up on the big travel sites, though.

 

http://farecast.live.com/

I've saved significant money using this site.

 

kayak, lastminutetravel, farecast, travelocity, priceline

They're all generally going to be in the same ballpark. Be aware that some sites throw up their price and do NOT include taxes and fees; others do, so be sure you're comparing apples to apples.

 

We've got some great hotel/car rental deals--and I mean great--through Hotwire but we've never tried air fare.

 

Hey! Keep your mitts off the Shat-man!

 

You might expand on what Waldorf said and try the airlines sites directly. I have been looking for a good deal to Copenhagen, Denmark and have tried almost every discount site around in the last three weeks. About a week ago I talked to a friend who frequents Europe about twice a year and he said to try United Airline's website because that's the carrier he uses and he always gets the best prices from them. I gave it a try and it was a bit cheaper than the best deal I had found. So, just for grins, I tried several other carriers and found a round-trip for $528 on Air Canada. That beat everyone else by over $300. It involves an hour and a half layover in Toronto then direct to Copenhagen, but big deal. I can sit anywhere for $200 per hour.

 

Every time you search, clear your cookies first. I know that if Orbitz recognizes you've searched those flights before, they give you higher prices the next time.