I use travelocity with pretty good results. The key is to comparison shop not only the airlines but the travel routes.

I've been surprised to find that a trip with two stops, and whatever layovers involved, is the same price, or a few dollars more, than trips with one stop. Why would you choose two stops?

Wouldn't it be nice to get a straight flight, no stops, just once?

i've spent 13 years of my life travelling.... mostly n.america/europe.
i have never spent more than 680 canadian dollars on a return ticket from anywhere to anywhere.
everyone else i know has spent up to 2 grand for the exact same tickets.
the secret to getting these tickets cheaper is competition.
when you go to a ticket agent, their objective is to get the most money out of you that they can get....they recieve a percentage of that.
you have to shop around, and even entering that first agent, when they quote you their cheapest price on a return ticket from lets say, toronto/rome/toronto, tell them you've already found a better price....the chances are, rather than losing you as a customer, they'll find a cheaper price for you.
prices of tickets vary based on the millions of combinations they can find....it takes time for an agent to truly find a cheap combination, you've got to make them work for you.
i really don't understand why people pay 1500 or 2000 on a return ticket they can get for 650 with a little effort.

i mean thats like 1300 bucks, with lets say 6 hours of extra work.
what kind of job pays you over 200 dollars/per hour

i have no experience with purchasing tickets online, so i can't give you advice there

thanks all. they're all coming out pretty much the same at $2,100 for 5 of us with one stop each way. the only downer is a seriously early mornng departure, but I think we can suck it up....

W.HI.P in my experience in the US, the real-life agents can't hope to compete with the internet, they make a living through people who don't trust the online retailers.

Philly to Boston $1100, with a stop/plane change $300, because there's no competition. :(

That's outrageous!

I recently found a two stop, for a bit more than a one stop, for a 1000 mile trip. You'd spend more time changing planes than actually flying. Plus, more opportunities for lost luggage.

What a racket.

The place where they're really hurting is corporate clients. CEOs won't do their own online nonsense, but they've figured out that Sally in HR knows how to book it just fine. Travel agencies are dying faster than newspapers.

damn, that's fast.....

BOOKED!
 

Found tickets for 5 for $1,200 plus car hire for $375 on Expedia a few weeks ago.

Ummed and ahhed for a bit, everyone telling us it's a good price we're gonna lose it, so went on tonight, determined to book

...and lo and behold cheaper flights had appeared. 5 flights (inc all taxes etc) for less than $900. Plus an add-on car hire -full-size car for $325. we found the flight tickets on expedia, they were the same price direct from Delta plus Delta had this great car hire deal, so we went with Delta.

let me say this: DELTA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS DONKEY BOLLOCKS. we already knew this -the morning radio DJ has a regular gripe about them, but still, this is one that has to be experienced to be believed. At one, point, the guy on the phone actually admitted there was false advertising regarding the car hire......

here's hoping we've had all the trouble we;re going to get with these flights.... but they are booked, paid and insured, and I have car booking confirmation (for what that's worth....)

Watch out Florida!

Good work Monnie you type-A acheiver.

Clod, how did you know my HR manager is called Sally? :eyebrow:

Philly to Boston for $1,100? What??? How far is that? I know it is all north-east, so it can't be too far...

'Bout 300 miles.

our tickets are not direct. quadruple the price for direct. Meh, we'll change. so, our checked luggage gets lost/is delayed in transit. we'll deal.....

: does sums in head :

Crikey.

Given all the rigmarole you have to go through to get on a 'plane these days, it is probably quicker as well as cheaper to take the train.

Or maybe even the bus.

The trains are a bit cheaper. They are in no way quicker, I assure you. We travel with Amtrak on a fairly regular basis and I have never once seen a train leave or arrive on time. But maybe they have good trains in Australia.