Kaua'i parrot | © Greg Gross
I feel sorry for anyone trying to search out a good airfare online these days. So many Web sites, so many options, so little candor. Not only are airlines pricing structures downright Byzantine, but airfares are so volatile, it’s insane.
During a 5-hour train trip once on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from Santa Barbara to San Diego, my wife and I considered a December flight from LAX to Paris.
We leave Santa Barbara at 7:01 a.m.
9:40 a.m.: I break out the laptop and start scanning airfares. The Air France round-trip coach fare for two is about $2,500. Too steep. I then check Expedia. Same airline, same flights: $2,300. Better, but not better enough.
10:12 a.m.: I check out Kayak, which simultaneously scans multiple airlines and even other reservation sites. Air Tahiti Nui has the same Paris flights for $2,100.
10:23 a.m.: I jump on the Air Tahiti Nui site (always check the airline site as well as the other reservation sites). Their Paris fare: $1,800. Nice. But a hunch leads me back to Expedia.
10:32 a.m.: On Expedia, I find the same Air Tahiti Nui flights, same days, same everything…$1,685. I don’t understand why this is, and I don’t care.
11:12 a.m.: We pull out the plastic and pull the trigger. We have our tickets, at a rate almost $900 less than Air France.
The train arrives at our station at 11:49 a.m. We’re home by 12:15 p.m. I jump on the Web and check Expedia again to admire the bargain price that we found.
The fare is now just over $2,400.
In five hours, the fare for the same trip had gone down nearly $900 and back up almost the same amount. In the four months between the time we booked and the day of departure, it will oscillate up and down, but never again fall below $2,000.
This is not a tout for Expedia. We just as easily might’ve found that fare on Travelocity, Orbitz, Vayama or any of a thousand other sites. The point is, when we found it, we moved on it.
MORAL: Search carefully, search thoroughly, but when you find a fare that’s comfortable, don’t second-guess yourself. He who hesitates can lose a ton of money.
That’s one tip. Here’s another: Don’t think airline. Think alliance.
Nowadays, brand loyalty to a single airline may be overrated.
A few years ago, American Airlines made a big deal out of removing seats from their planes to create more legroom in Coach. Being 6’3,” I couldn’t wait to enroll in their frequent-flier program. I figured I’d found my airline for life.
A few years later, they put them all back in, but I still didn’t have enough miles to go anywhere. I was stuck. In the end, though, it’s all worked out. Why?
Many of the world’s major airlines have banded together in operational marriages-of-convenience called alliances. They divvy up routes, reservation systems, even passengers, among themselves. It’s called code-sharing.
They also accept one another’s frequent-flier miles — and that’s a good thing.
What does all this airlinespeak mean to you? It means that if you book a flight from Chicago to London on United, you may find yourself on a Lufthansa jet instead.
The three biggest alliances, in order, are Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld.
My principal alliance is Oneworld. Among its 11 members are the airlines I either know best or fly to my most desired destinations — American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Air Lines and LAN. They’ll be joined in two years by Air Berlin, a fairly new airline that looks really promising for decent airfares into the heart of Europe.
Check out the alliance sites. Not only will they tell you who their individual member airlines are, but you can even plan itineraries and book flight through the alliance sites.
Find an alliance you can stick with. Enroll in the frequent-flier mileage program of the airline in that alliance that you use most often. But just to cover yourself, sign up for frequent-flier mikes with an airline in the other major alliances, as well!
Another thing about frequent-flier miles: They’re good for more than just flights. You also might be able to use them to buy access into those cushy airline lounges, the ones reserved for First and Business Class passengers. Not just one, but any lounge in the alliance. Comfortable chairs. Free food and drinks. A little peace and serenity before that 11-hour killer over the ocean.
Just sayin’.
NEXT TIME: When it comes to travel costs, what is real — and how to find out!