How to travel/fly on the cheap?

[shadow191]

www.flyertalk.com

1-3 days seems like you'll be doing long weekends? So if you're in FL, that means domestic and maybe Carribean, Mexico, Central America since those are all no more than 4 - 5 hour direct flights. I doubt you'll have time to go to Europe or Asia since even a direct flight to Europe is at minimum 6 hours to the UK, it's more like 8 for the rest of western Europe.

I don't know your city, but the cheapest flights are from non hub airports since there is more competition. ie, I fly out of Atlanta and since it's a Delta hub, there are fewer sales. Delta has so many slots they don't really have to compete on price so the other airlines don't really drop their prices much since it won't help.

The only real thing to get cheap airfares is not to be too particular about where you want to go, sales are random. And to go at off peak times like middle of the week to places that aren't business oriented or you'll hit consultant flights which are always full and never on sale. But if you're going for long weekends, the flights don't drop a ton since they can more easily fill them with leisure travelers.

skiplagged can help, but it's just hidden city ticketing and if you do it enough times on a particular airline, they will know and can block you.

Or get a job that entails travel and build up miles/hotel points/rental car points/etc.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by shadow191

skiplagged can help, but it's just hidden city ticketing and if you do it enough times on a particular airline, they will know and can block you.

Actually if caught even once they can revoke your account and seize your miles/points. Some airlines are very aggressive on this point, read most domestic majors. Not worth the possible hassle especially if you have a good airline reward for loyalty programs that you could jeopardize IMO.

[csu87]

Start banging a flight attendent. One of my friends GF is a flight attendent and they can fly anywhere they want for free, just have to pay the taxes on the regular price of the ticket or something like that.

And, a lot of flight attendents/pilots go in on condos and places to stay in major cities that anyone can crash at for a cheap price.

He just got back from traveling europe for a week and a half, and spent a total of $100 on both their tickets (got free booze on the plane too for being a flight attendent) and a tad over $100 in lodging by using unused condos near the airport.

[shadow191]

Buddy passes aren't what they used to be, you fly standby and since more and more flights are full these days, it's hit or miss to use them. If you're flexible, they're great, but you may be stuck in Europe for 3 days waiting on a flight back.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by tony20009

I have to be honest, I read a lot of stuff and hear a lot of stuff and sometimes the info that makes it my way is accurate, specific, complete and well reasoned. More often, however, it's "knee jerk" in nature, which is to say it overvalues the importance of one or several events observed by the speaker. I don't know where your friend's observations fall on that spectrum and I don't have any interest in whether your/his conclusions re: Allegiant are rational or not. I would just ask the following:

• Do your friend's stories echo the concerns stated here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/bu...ards.html?_r=0 ?
• Does your friend also share the "other side" of the story also presented in that article?

My buddy's concerns are much along the same lines as those mentioned in the article. As the article says, the problem with Allegiant is three-fold: "the airline’s fleet of older planes, poor maintenance operations and a culture where profits come before safety."

It's interesting because the article is written from the perspective which implies all the concerns are brought up by pilots. Granted, they do have an incentive to over-report a problem while seeking concessions. (and obviously, because it's their asses which will plummet into the ground at 400mph if they have yet another mechanical/engine failure while in flight. At least the ground techs dont have that fate awaiting them. )

It's worth noting that the maintenance guys are a separate entity than the pilots, have separate bargaining, etc.
Complaining loudly to the media (or the management) to serve a compensation agenda is a legitimate concern, but the stories he hears are from other techs, sitting around having beers with each other. This is not in front of the media or the management. These private discussions between themselves do little to improve their unions bargaining position. Of course, talk at a bar is cheap. Choosing to not fly Allegiant himself costs my buddy extra money out of his after-tax income. It does not improve his bargaining position with his own employer (not Allegiant).

I just think it's good when people make informed decisions. If someone who is an insider actively avoids a particular vendor, to his own detriment (financially or otherwise), that should tell you something.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

My buddy's concerns are much along the same lines as those mentioned in the article. As the article says, the problem with Allegiant is three-fold: "the airline’s fleet of older planes, poor maintenance operations and a culture where profits come before safety."

It's interesting because the article is written from the perspective which implies all the concerns are brought up by pilots. ...

It's worth noting that the maintenance guys are a separate entity than the pilots, have separate bargaining, etc.

...

I just think it's good when people make informed decisions. If someone who is an insider actively avoids a particular vendor, to his own detriment (financially or otherwise), that should tell you something.

It does tell me something. So does that among the pilots' complaints is the ineptitude of the ground crews. In light of all that I've seen it tells me I need to take all of it with a grain of salt for it's not clear to me that anything I've heard from any of the sources I've encountered is 100% representationally faithful to the point that I can rely entirely on it.

All the best.

[ImolaMoop]

Ritz Carlton Shenzhen is not that expensive and neither is the St Regis.

But I don't think shenzhen is a vacation destination.

Thailand or Vietnam are some of the best places in the world for budget travelers. Unbelievable good stuff for cheap flights and airBNB.

[eluded]

Originally Posted by csu87

Start banging a flight attendent.

Always great advice here.

You can fly on the cheap through IndianEagle Website it offers cheap flight ticket booking from U.S.A. to India and all over the world.