I check southwest.com separately. They don't list elsewhere (avoiding commission fees I assume).
FYI, Google flights displays southwest flights but you have to book through SWA directly.
Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
11–20 of 41 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#12Skiplagged is also very good
Just saw a news article about American Airlines banning a college-aged passenger from the airline for 3 years upon (correctly) suspecting he would skip the last leg of his flight because he presented a drivers license with his home address in the layover city. So perhaps not the greatest idea.
Never take luggage, never admit you’re skiplagging, never use your rewards info, get a passport card or global entry card as ID (no address).
(Does not excuse AA for their handling of the situation)
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just saw a news article about American Airlines banning a college-aged passenger from the airline for 3 years upon (correctly) suspecting he would skip the last leg of his flight because he presented a drivers license with his home address in the layover city. So perhaps not the greatest idea.
Never take luggage, never admit you’re skiplagging, never use your rewards info, get a passport card or global entry card as ID (no address). (Does not excuse AA for their handling of the situation)
Is this from experience?
Also, don't airlines have enough information to identify you anyway, even if you don't connect your rewards profile? Alternatively, is that bit of advice because airlines are particularly unhappy to let you get miles for a segment of a flight you never boarded?
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Never take luggage, never admit you’re skiplagging, never use your rewards info, get a passport card or global entry card as ID (no address). (Does not excuse AA for their handling of the situation)
Is this from experience? Also, don't airlines have enough information to identify you anyway, even if you don't connect your rewards profile? Alternatively, is that bit of advice because airlines are particularly unhappy to let you get miles for a segment of a flight you never boarded?
Yes, but also travel blogger advice. If you use your rewards info, they will possibly nuke your rewards.
https://support.skiplagged.com/hc/en-us/articles/11500328668...
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#15Google Flights has in my opinion the best interface to initiate the search. But it won't show you necessarily the best price if you are flying international airlines. So I always end up in the airline's website locally connected via VPN. Sometimes the difference is absurd, tickets selling for $300 in the international version of the website go for $60 if you access the regional version or from other countries except the US.
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#16Google Flights has in my opinion the best interface to initiate the search. But it won't show you necessarily the best price if you are flying international airlines. So I always end up in the airline's website locally connected via VPN. Sometimes the difference is absurd, tickets selling for $300 in the international version of the website go for $60 if you access the regional version or from other countries except…
Wow! Good idea! What VPN do you use? Never used one but this might be the first legitimate use case for signing up for one.
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#17ITA matrix has options to remove 737MAX, so I start there.
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#18Google flights is the best starting point. But during and post-covid, it's really recommended book directly with an airline. A travel agency will likely take half a day to rebook you after a cancellation, but an airline will put you on the next flight. Definitely don't book 2 separate tickets with 2 airlines to save money, because it's still pretty likely one flight will be cancelled/delayed and you will get stuck.
Check driving/transit to nearby airports instead of flying from your city. In North America this may give you a few more options and rarely worth it. In Europe this unlocks many deals.
Check multi-city options. Made-up example: Compare [Paris-New York-LA-New-York-Paris] to [Paris-New York-Paris (plus a separate booking of New York-LA-New York] to [Paris-New York-Paris].
Forget about maximizing points for your personal bookings. In my experience in the last few years, they are almost useless for individuals compared to taking the best option/airline on case-by-case basis. They only make sense for business travelers that can take expensive flights for business and then leverage the points for personal travel.
If you just want to travel when you see an opportunity, "Scott's cheap flights" or a regional alternative is worth looking into.
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just saw a news article about American Airlines banning a college-aged passenger from the airline for 3 years upon (correctly) suspecting he would skip the last leg of his flight because he presented a drivers license with his home address in the layover city. So perhaps not the greatest idea.
Never take luggage, never admit you’re skiplagging, never use your rewards info, get a passport card or global entry card as ID (no address). (Does not excuse AA for their handling of the situation)
Using a passport as ID is a great way to prevent anyone, not just airlines, from learning your address.
Re: Ask HN: How do you find airline tickets?
#20I’ve had Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) for several years now. I’ve gotten some decent bookings out of it, but IMO it’s really only worth it if you’re the kind of person who makes impulse travel purchases. The deals there can be really great (I just saw a $375 ticket to Peru from the USA which is less than half the usual price), but they only appear for a day or two. I’ve found the easiest way to get a good price when you have set or barely flexible travel dates is to do the following:
- go to Google Flights
- look at the price history
- find the lowest price for your dates
- pick some nominal percentage above the floor like 10-15%
- watch the flight on google flights (you get an email every time the price changes)
- buy the ticket once it hits that range.
Works every time for me. I don’t see massive price differences between Kayak Google Flights etc either