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Where's a good place to get reasonable airfare?

8K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  DonAndAbby 
#1 ·
I know there really isn't cheap airfare anymore,but can anyone suggest a place to get airfare that won't ruin your bank account? I'd appreciate first-hand experience if anyone can share.I tried the Delta site,and they were $1600+ (I fully expected that tho).The wife tried the local travel agent,and it was $1300 there.We have people in the US that used to do all our airfare,but they have retired evidently.

Anybody know a good consolidator or inexpensive travel agent?
 
#2 ·
HI SMM,
Been awhile between drinks, hope you are all well.
Not sure where you are flying from/to but I always spend time,,,,,,,,,,lots of time with google, my best friend.
We used to pay AU 1K per person, Brisbane to Manila direct/return also, with Qantas, over the years, prices go up and down depending on the time of year, last Christmas 2016 our flights cost us AU 3,600.00 for 2 return (Philippine Airlines) the cheapest we could find 4 months before our desired travel dates. This march 2017 the same flights with the same company cost AU 1,350.00 for 2 return, go figure.
Let your fingers do the walking.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Wanting a flight from MNL to PDX (Portland Oregon).

We haven't flown for some time now,but to see the fares double from last time we traveled is a bit much.We always used a travel service ran by Filipino friends who reside in the US.

We did get a quote from them awhile back for Delta in March for around $950 I think it was,but we decided to postpone till late April or early May.They are now visiting family in the PI.If they call us while they are here,they may be able to suggest a place to arrange for a reasonable fare.

Wish I had a number for them here.:)

I'll have a look at tripdelta...thanks Stevesolar

I'll have a look at skyscanner also..thanks Gary.
 
#9 ·
Philippine Airlines are who we fly with these days from Oz since Qantas stopped direct flights from Brisbane, generally competitive and good in flight service.
I out of curiosity had a look on their site and found they do fly to LAX and SFO with reasonable prices, I did see one way sectors as low as $350.00. depends on your dates and flexibility.
Looks like direct flights to lax are about twelve and a half hours, not sure the cost of internal flights to get you to Portland.
Hope this is some help.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#11 ·
Ok, I'm on a different computer so I have a full keyboard working. My wife just asked about finding her a flight at the end of March from South Florida to the PI. I've used it numerous times and I've found that Google flights is a very decent option to find a flight that's good for the wallet.

Just the other day, I found her a flight from South Florida to the Philippines (Manila) for $836. I had to massage the dates a little each way to save a couple of hundred bucks but it was worth it.

Click on the date and choose flexible and it'll allow you to make changes by date to help find the most affordable flight.

I hope this helps and I apologize for my previous response that was somehwhat "coded" because my keyboard was not working.

I wish you the best in finding a flight that is reasonable.

Cheers,

Doug
 
#13 ·
Picking seats is more down to the airline than the ticket provider. We used Skyscanner in Nov 2015 to book my wife a ticket from the UK to Clark for last October. Seats were pre-allocated at the time. I then booked through Skyscanner the following July 2016 to accompany her, again seats pre-allocated, both of us being through different agents. I just went into the Qatar Airway website and moved us both around to be sitting together on all four flights. No problem.
 
#17 ·
There can be other issues by booking through these cheap flight finder sights. Last year I booked Emirates flights for my family to fly Lon-Dubai-Seychelles-Dubai-London, for my wedding in fact. I booked online using one of these sites and in my haste I inadvertently booked the fights in my daughters maiden name instead of her married name. As soon as I spoke to my daughter she made me aware of my mistake. Realising this would be a problem I tried to have the names changed........OMG what an absolute disaster it turned into. The agent claimed that they couldn't change the name and that I would have to cancel the flights, of course with a cancellation fee and rebook, at guess what a much higher price!! I spoke directly with Emirates and whilst they were sympathetic they could do nothing as the booking was not made with them. Long story short, I had to cancel the flights, which included several extremely long international calls to Canada of all places, on hold for ages, so a hefty phone bill, followed by a hefty price increase on the new tickets. Would have been cheaper and certainly a lot easier to have booked directly with Emirates. So beware, unless you are absolutely certain of your dates etc, and no possibility of having to cancel, and there is hefty saving over booking direct with airline, I would advise against these booking sites. Just my opinion based upon personal experience.
 
#18 ·
You get what you pay for

I will take my 4th trip to the P.I. at the end of April. Until now, I have used Expedia and have gotten decent rates.

However:

You can easily find fares that are low, that's easy. But what you typically get are long layovers and seats in the cattle car section.
For this upcoming trip, I booked directly with Delta from MSP -> Portland -> Tokyo -> Manila. Seats are Delta Comfort+ so the fare was more expensive: $1500 base, $1949 after fees, taxes etc. Hour and a half layover in Portland and Tokyo.
A lot of money? Sure, but the wider seats and short layovers have value to me so I pay it.
Although, I sure did like that non-stop on Philippine Airlines from SFO last time . . . .
 
#33 ·
I will take my 4th trip to the P.I. at the end of April. Until now, I have used Expedia and have gotten decent rates.

However:

You can easily find fares that are low, that's easy. But what you typically get are long layovers and seats in the cattle car section.
For this upcoming trip, I booked directly with Delta from MSP -> Portland -> Tokyo -> Manila. Seats are Delta Comfort+ so the fare was more expensive: $1500 base, $1949 after fees, taxes etc. Hour and a half layover in Portland and Tokyo.
A lot of money? Sure, but the wider seats and short layovers have value to me so I pay it.
Although, I sure did like that non-stop on Philippine Airlines from SFO last time . . . .
You can get the PAL non-stop to Manila from LAX also. Both leave there in the evening and arrive here in the morning.
I'm an ex airline employee so I book a rez by safety factors and aircraft maintenance quality. For those reasons I always use Philippine Airlines from the West coast. The unacceptable layover usually comes in getting from most places to SFO of LAX.
 
#19 ·
Yes, a point of clarification might be necessary. I use Google Flights in order to plan and compare various flight options - travel dates, airlines, duration, etc..

But then I always select the option below the flight itinerary to book directly with the airline, Delta for example, and it will pull up the Delta website with the flights and dates already preloaded. Then I can book or fine tune it with their flexible dates option.. I agree that booking direct with the airline saves a lot of hassle.

If the flight itinerary involves multiple carriers, I start to get nervous about seats, and if the booking options list only booking sites like Orbitz or Travelocity or Cheapo Air.. haha.. I'm not interested. Like Hogrider said - those types of budget arrangements just lead to problems. Live and learn.
 
#21 ·
Sorry for going missing.I got pretty sick there for a while,and then the computer took a dive.:sorry:

I need to get busy figuring this out.Have a friend who travels frequently,and he may share his travel agent with me.We'll see what happens.

Still not feeling great,but I'll go slow.

SMM
 
#24 ·
If you're in the Philippines and you have a Citibank ccard then you could be qualified for their promo on tickets. $560++ for a round trip fare frm Manila to LA and some other destinations.

Credit Card Travel Offer at Cathay Pacific ? Citibank Philippines

*Im not in any way affiliated with citibank
Some great fares, but when reading further..........Fares exclude taxes and surcharges. That may push the prices up quite a bit. Unfortunately, my Citi card was issued in Dubai and one of the conditions is that it must be a Philippines issued card. :(
 
#23 ·
Try "Cat" at catherine@romanovconsulting.com She will do the best for you, I have used her for years with all my overseas travel working for Uncle Sam. My company used her and then went to a family member for the last few years. The bill went up 50% with that incestuous relationship. A good thing about Cat is she is available 24/7 if something goes sidewards during the flight. Tell her VertRep Melia recommended her. Good luck
 
#31 ·
Anything that has China in it, is not recommended. Why?
The delay you in China, you get your bags out and re-check them again plus the no service, etc.
Ya .. you would pay less but talk about lengthy flights!

Google flights is another good one.

To go back to the US, since there are reasonable flights to other close cities to Manila, one might fly to them and then take off from there.

Japan Airlines from Kuala Lumpur seems to be OK?
For some reason JAL's trip is cheaper if you book it from Malaysia?
 
#34 ·
Both top notch airlines. But that's 15 hour flight on PAL. I personally can't do that, even in PAL Premium Economy, which is extremely nice on international flights. I used to take the Delta route from PDX myself, as I like the stop in Japan, however now I'm flying through LAX so I just stop overnight in Honolulu for a nice overnight break. I know, I'm a wimp..
 
#38 · (Edited by Moderator)
Two months ago, had to go to Oz rather quickly, PAL best $1000au, they were comparable with the'cheap airlines' and direct into Brisbane as Steve was saying. Much better flights than having to change.
I am with Steve, direct or very short stopovers for me. Hat sitting in airports.
Steve, I heard yesterday PAL has AU flights for $800 special!
 
#41 ·
Ron we normally advance book,,,,,, some months and generally 700 to 750 Aussie dollars unless it's Xmas time then almost double that, we have up to 1 hour layover in Darwin for refuelling so all up an 8 hour flight, great service and food, always fly in the morning from Oz and we are in our hotel early evening 7.30 pm. We fly out late at night, sleep and rock up in Oz and driving home by 8 or 9 in the morning.
Travelling from the States or northern Europe is a different kettle of fish and one I wouldn't relish,,,,,,,,,, no different to me flying to LAX or Heathrow. But we do it because we love the Philippines and all the tripe that goes with it.
In flight entertainment is Zilch unless you are on a bigger flight and you are offered tablets, for me I just chill, sleep getting ready for another adventure.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#39 ·
I always used to look at a wide variety of sites in making my bookings. What I found was usually very little difference between the sites and generally my best prices was to book directly with the airline site. The price was usually the same but I'd get extra like additional points or more flexibility on making any required changes.

I once booked through Expedia and the airline was not very cooperative on a small issue, when I booked direct they were happy to help.

This was booking Dubai to Winnipeg return 4 times a year on business class on Air Canada. I always have Gold status with Star Alliance. Different airlines, different class, different status, and different routes may give you different experiences.
 
#40 ·
I always fly Cathay pacific from Boston . I use the same flight every time , leave Boston at 150am direct to Hong Kong , 3.5 hr lay over the direct to Cebu . Door to door it’s 21hrs , the most direct flight , I can find from Boston , I’ve never paid more than $1,100 ,
 
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