Travel Tips: Booking a Flight

Khane

Khane

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Alright all you frequent fliers. I have a few trips coming up soon that will require me to fly. The first one is to Phoenix coming up October 9th and I need to book a flight. I've tried the normal channels everyone knows about (Orbitz, Priceline, Actual Airline websites) but I have a few questions.

Are certain airlines worth completely staying away from? On the opposite side are other airlines worth paying extra money for?
Are there better, more reliable ways of finding the best deals?

I have a lot of options since I live in the middle of Connecticut. I can fly out of Hartford (which would be most convenient) or I can fly out of Providence, Boston, or New York (Either JFK or LaGuardia). I've flown out of Bradley (Hartford) and LaGuardia but never any of the others. Anyone have experience with these airports and would recommend staying away from any one or the other?

Currently what I've found is flights out of Bradley all have at least 1 layover but the layovers on the best flights only add about an hour and a half to the trip each way. Since I wouldn't need to drive/train as far to the airport I think the overall time will be about the same if I travel to any of the further airports. The problem is, JFK seems have flights about $150 cheaper (on US Airways), so I'm looking for ideas on other sites I may have missed.

I don't mind paying an extra $150 if the airline and trip will go smoother and be more comfortable, I'm going to be in the air for almost 6 hours. Anything else I should be considering?
 
Alex

Alex

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I avoid connections like the plague. Nonstop flights only.

In my experience, Virgin America is by far the best airline to use. Jet Blue is also very good. United has stepped up its game recently, but it's still not as good as Virgin. Delta can be OK. I'm usually stuck with them because they have so many available flights and the price point is usually decent.

Not sure about the airports. Of the ones you listed I've only been to JFK.
 
McCheese

McCheese

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I've never had a good experience on a Delta flight.

Personally, I'm the opposite of Alex in that I always take the absolute cheapest flight possible, even if it means a long layover and/or shitty airline (thus me flying on Delta numerous times despite hating them).

That said, I don't think saving $150 is worth going to JFK if you can fly out of a much closer (and likely smaller, more comfortable, and more convenient) airport. I've driven to JFK and flown into/out of it several times and each time it was just a nightmare all around in terms of the crowds and time it took to navigate the enormous terminals.
 
jrbuddha

jrbuddha

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Have you tried Kayak? Searches multiple search sites at once, and has options to open windows for the other search engines (like priceline and travelocity etc.)
 
Alex

Alex

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For an aggregate site, I thinkhipmunkis the best. It just doesn't include Southwest so remember to check their site as well.
 
Khane

Khane

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Good info so far, thanks guys. I was leaning towards JetBlue because I've heard good things. Virgin Airways is so ridiculously more expensive (like $400 more expensive) I think they are out. But I've heard they are heads and tails the best flight experience. If I was flying internationally I'd probably choose them.
 
R

Rune_sl

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Google flights is pretty decent but it rarely beats hipmunk. I always take southwest if they go to my destination because all the other airlines are (in my experience) pure, undiluted evil. But lately those cocksuckers at southwest have started to subcontract out to a vastly shittier company. Fucking horseshit.

You don't find out until you board, either.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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My best flights were on JetBlue. Had a few AA flights that were shitty (rude staff, no entertainment, cramped to FUCK seats).

I always fly out of Logan, and despite being one of the most popular airports it's relatively easy to navigate and not as crowded as you think. Downside is you have to drive into Boston, fuck that.
 
Soygen

Soygen

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I like Virgin and Southwest. Avoid US Air at all costs.
 
Gravel

Gravel

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Rune_sl said:
Google flights is pretty decent but it rarely beats hipmunk. I always take southwest if they go to my destination because all the other airlines are (in my experience) pure, undiluted evil. But lately those cocksuckers at southwest have started to subcontract out to a vastly shittier company. Fucking horseshit.

You don't find out until you board, either.
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Not sure if Google flights pulls from the same thing, butMatrixITAis pretty awesome. Someone suggested it back on FoH and it seems to pull the cheapest prices for me.
 
November

November

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Do not fly Spirit. Their tickets 'appear' cheapest, but they reap back all that lost money on everything. Everything. Baggage -$$$, Snacks -$$$.

I would never fly them personally, but I was booked on a corporate ticket for work due to their 'lowest fare' policy. By the time the company paid for the ticket, and everything else I expensed out just to fly, Spirit was more expensive than the alternative airlines. /mindbottling

My knees touched the seat in front of me - there was no room for movement. The flight crew was joking around on the intercom. No professionalism and they kept hocking their branded credit card throughout the flight.

I've flown United, US Air, Delta, AA, Air Trans usually. I guess I prefer Delta due to no other good option. Air Trans is ghetto like Spirit.
 
Alex

Alex

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Spirit is the worst airline ever. Flown with them once and will never do it again.
 
Furry

Furry

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If you think the airlines you fly with are bad... Spirit's standard of excellence is below the worst experiences most people have with any other airline. I'm not joking when I say its literally a greyhound with wings. There's plenty of mediocre airlines out there, but its hard to put any of them in even the same ballpark as spirit.
 
S

Soriak_sl

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I recently flew Southwest for the first time and it was a bit unusual not to have an assigned seat. That said, it wasn't a bad experience and I'd fly with them again if they were the cheapest. I'm not sure why they don't let google flights list their prices as it seems that would help them get business. I suspect Google et al take a cut, but still... lots of people use these comparison tools and not getting listed seems like a bad idea.

I actually went with them because they had a late night flight that I wanted, while all the other airlines flew out earlier. I tend to care more about time than price, because if I get to a city at 8am, that gives me a whole day to explore compared to getting in at 8pm. I figure "gaining" a day in a city is worth at least as much as the cost of a night in the hotel.

Had some bad experiences on Delta/Air France/KLM -- I still can't believe the world's three worst airlines merged and it didn't create a black hole. Overall, though, I'm not willing to pay more than an extra $150 or so to avoid them on international flights. And for domestic flights, I'll just suck up Delta, too. Fortunately, they haven't been cheapest for the flights I take in a long time.

My best experience has always been with JetBlue, but United is pretty good as well. Now that I'm no longer based in New York, most of my flights are with United.
 
Itlan

Itlan

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I've always flown JetBlue, and I think American for international? Not sure, either way both kick ass imo. JetBlue is cheap as fuck, but still comfortable.
 
Fifey

Fifey

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I think southwests no assigned seating is absolute dog shit and I won't fly with them again because of it. I booked months in advance but didn't check in till I got to the airport so I was dead dead last on the plane(they told me I might have to wait for another plane cause they oversold or some shit) so I ended up on the absolute last row in the middle. Never again, I usually fly us airways but I never check luggage, just a backpack is all I need for my week long trips back home.
 
Alex

Alex

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fifey_sl said:
I think southwests no assigned seating is absolute dog shit and I won't fly with them again because of it. I booked months in advancebut didn't check in till I got to the airportso I was dead dead last on the plane(they told me I might have to wait for another plane cause they oversold or some shit) so I ended up on the absolute last row in the middle. Never again, I usually fly us airways but I never check luggage, just a backpack is all I need for my week long trips back home.
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Sounds like it's not a Southwest problem. That's the way they are. You should check-in as soon as you are able (24 hours before take-off). Personally, I'm a fan of the seat-yourself policy. People always go all the way to the back of the plane to get a window or aisle seat. Fuck that. I'm sitting in row two in the middle. I like getting off the plane as soon as I am able.
 
Fifey

Fifey

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Alex_sl said:
Sounds like it's not a Southwest problem. That's the way they are. You should check-in as soon as you are able (24 hours before take-off). Personally, I'm a fan of the seat-yourself policy. People always go all the way to the back of the plane to get a window or aisle seat. Fuck that. I'm sitting in row two in the middle. I like getting off the plane as soon as I am able.
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Its never been an issue before on us airways, I'll usually end up in front of the wings and seems like 90 percent of the time I get window too.
 
Soygen

Soygen

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Alex_sl said:
Sounds like it's not a Southwest problem. That's the way they are. You should check-in as soon as you are able (24 hours before take-off). Personally, I'm a fan of the seat-yourself policy. People always go all the way to the back of the plane to get a window or aisle seat. Fuck that. I'm sitting in row two in the middle. I like getting off the plane as soon as I am able.
Click to expand...
You crazy! I'd rather sit on the plane for 15 minutes after landing, than sit next in the middle of fat people, kids, etc for an entire flight.
 
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