Travel Sourcing Cheap Flights 2016

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rdhopkins2

rdhopkins2

Carpe Diem
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Getting in early but I'm sure you are all starting to think about domestic or international trips for next year.

What sites or travel agents will you use to book?

Who currently has great specials?

Post your tips here and hopefully people also reciprocate by answering others questions too.

I'm hoping for Fiji or similar family friendly destination with my gf and her 3yo child.
 
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip with the wife, but can't decide between Pacific Coast/Vegas in July/August or Japan in May. Vegas is probably preferred (only just) however the current exchange rate has turned me off slightly, and im not sure if i should just delay it for a few years and hope our dollar rises.

I normally just book flights through the airline websites, as a few years back i had trouble with flight centre, however i have noticed some decent prices on STA Travel and was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with them, especially their Laybuy option.

Also, when do people find is the optimal time to book flights? (Outside of promo deals etc) Is it better to book as early as possible, or do prices get cheaper say 2 or 3 months before departure then spike again as it gets closer?
 
I'm a big fan of skyscanner.com.au

Flight search engine that crunches the numbers and finds the best price.
 

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I prefer STA over Flight Centre.

I love Airfare Matrix. Thank me later. https://matrix.itasoftware.com

Hard to say exactly when the best time to book is. I'd be guessing on average 4-5 months out but you wouldn't want to travel during school hols to risk it.
 
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passionate81 said:
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip with the wife, but can't decide between Pacific Coast/Vegas in July/August or Japan in May. Vegas is probably preferred (only just) however the current exchange rate has turned me off slightly, and im not sure if i should just delay it for a few years and hope our dollar rises.
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If you think the AUD will depreciate further, you could organise a travel debit card and start topping up now. Likewise you could also exchange for some USD cash. You'd want to be certain of going though.

You could also prepay accommodation, tours etc. Depends how structured you want or can make your trip to be.
 
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STA
Skyscanner
Kayak
Airfare Matrix

All of the above are good for flights and you're very unlikely to find anything cheaper if it's not on one of these. Ensure that you book in a private browsing window from different browsers to get the cheapest price, as airlines mark up flights based on your cookie/browser settings.
 
Michaels said:
my only advice is if you plan on going to Fiji, no NOT fly with Fiji Air. you will get stung big $$ because of the bullshit carry on baggage rules.

fly with Virgin instead.
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Or fly with Fiji Air and check their carry on restrictions prior to flying? Same as any budget airline, they offer cheap flights and make their money off idiots who don't plan ahead.
 
ash_1050 said:
Or fly with Fiji Air and check their carry on restrictions prior to flying? Same as any budget airline, they offer cheap flights and make their money off idiots who don't plan ahead.
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well done on the insult , classy.

it's actually a bit more shady than what you think. weight is not the issue.

you go into a luggage shop and buy a domestic size carry on bag without a second thought right ?

if you go to any other airline and put that case in the dimension box at the gate it will fit.

Fiji airs dimension box has less depth and less width so NO and I repeat NO domestic or even smaller carry on suitcase will fit in that box.

you then have to pay a couple of hundred each bag.

even flight centre were disgusted with this and said it wasn't right.

so you can plan all you want with packing and weight limits but when the dimension box is significantly smaller than a regular domestic carry on case that you would buy in every travel store across the world then that's bullshit.
 
nickrebellious said:
I'm a big fan of skyscanner.com.au

Flight search engine that crunches the numbers and finds the best price.
Click to expand...
skyscanner seems really good for the "irregular" places. It won't do you a batter deal to London than Expedia, Webjet or any of the others, but it might to Ljubljana or Quito.
Sadly with my new job, I doubt 2016 will see any travel. 2017 - Iceland, probably. Or maybe Canada, still never been to North America.
 
I haven't done the research myself, but I recently read a travel article which said flights are on average cheapest 53 days out from departure date. I prefer to have things booked earlier personally, but this was apparently a big study that analyzed a whole bunch of booking websites etc. Conventional wisdom might say earlier is cheaper, but that's not always the case.

Otherwise, my only other advice would be wait for a sale. They have sales and specials on all the time for all sorts of locations, you might not get the absolute cheapest fair ever, but if you see a price you like then take it. Sure, there's a chance something will come up cheaper down the track, but it depends how much you want to risk it. The longer you wait, the less option you have in regard to flight times, preferred airline etc.
 

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juss said:
I haven't done the research myself, but I recently read a travel article which said flights are on average cheapest 53 days out from departure date. I prefer to have things booked earlier personally, but this was apparently a big study that analyzed a whole bunch of booking websites etc. Conventional wisdom might say earlier is cheaper, but that's not always the case.

Otherwise, my only other advice would be wait for a sale. They have sales and specials on all the time for all sorts of locations, you might not get the absolute cheapest fair ever, but if you see a price you like then take it. Sure, there's a chance something will come up cheaper down the track, but it depends how much you want to risk it. The longer you wait, the less option you have in regard to flight times, preferred airline etc.
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That is interesting. As a rule I usually only ever book about 2 months ahead unless there is a decent sale and I must admit the prices aren't too bad a couple of months out. If I'm going long haul I've often found that upgrading to PE or business is heaps cheaper only about a week or two out.
 
Go direct with the airline, if you need any assistance at all agents particularly online agents are ******* useless and they are in control of your booking before departure. Particularly if it comes to changes or cancellation it's like Christmas to the agent as they can slug you for whatever they like on top of airline fees.
Have been a travel agent in the past, now work for a major airline and can say that if you want after booking service and value DO NOT go with an agent and don't even think about the dodgy sites through sky scanner, so many horror stories as a result.
 
Michaels said:
my only advice is if you plan on going to Fiji, no NOT fly with Fiji Air. you will get stung big $$ because of the bullshit carry on baggage rules.

fly with Virgin instead.
Click to expand...
My family just flew with Fiji Air.

Had no dramas.
 
passionate81 said:
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip with the wife, but can't decide between Pacific Coast/Vegas in July/August or Japan in May. Vegas is probably preferred (only just) however the current exchange rate has turned me off slightly, and im not sure if i should just delay it for a few years and hope our dollar rises.

I normally just book flights through the airline websites, as a few years back i had trouble with flight centre, however i have noticed some decent prices on STA Travel and was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with them, especially their Laybuy option.

Also, when do people find is the optimal time to book flights? (Outside of promo deals etc) Is it better to book as early as possible, or do prices get cheaper say 2 or 3 months before departure then spike again as it gets closer?
Click to expand...
My stepmother is Japanese and living in Tokyo. My dad goes over at the beginning of April every year because it's the best time to go...if you do want to go there, any chance you can bring your trip forward?

Michaels said:
my only advice is if you plan on going to Fiji, no NOT fly with Fiji Air. you will get stung big $$ because of the bullshit carry on baggage rules.

fly with Virgin instead.
Click to expand...

I got back from Fiji last week flying with Fiji Airways both ways and had no drama. They do check all carry-on and require you to put an "Approved" sticker on all cabin luggage, but I had no issues with the size and neither did anyone else that I saw checking in. I think people who push the boundaries with Jetstar etc will get stung but if you follow the actual regulations (not what you think you will get away with) you'll be fine.
 
MEB_ said:
My stepmother is Japanese and living in Tokyo. My dad goes over at the beginning of April every year because it's the best time to go...if you do want to go there, any chance you can bring your trip forward?
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Early April isnt possible but mid to late April wouldnt be a problem. Is there much of a difference between April and May?
 
passionate81 said:
Early April isnt possible but mid to late April wouldnt be a problem. Is there much of a difference between April and May?
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I went in May, beautiful weather (ranging from low 20s to high 20s), low rain and humidity because the wet season hasn't started yet, the crowds are down because you have missed the peak cherry blossums, (although even a less crowded Japan is still pretty crowded at the main tourist spots).

Shoulder seasons are the best time to travel imo, Japan is great in May if that's when you need to go.
 
Does anyone know of any sites where you can just browse prices for a certain location without entering a specific date? Every site I've found wants a specific date but that's extremely time consuming. For example, let's say I wanted to travel from Melbourne to Tokyo, is there a site where I can enter the date range (even if it's only a few weeks or a month at a time) and browse through all the Melbourne-Tokyo flights for that time period?

I'd like to travel but I don't really care when. I'd rather book a trip based around when the lowest prices are rather than a specific time.
 
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