Travel Tuesdays
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Welcome to my weekly travel tips on how and where to get the best deals, as well as some fun ideas for quick trips and long treks.
When’s the best time to get a good deal on airplane tickets? Believe it or not there is a one-hour window that travel junkies swear by.
Not long ago my friend Claudia was scouring the web, looking for a deal from Miami to Toronto. But no luck — a three-hour flight was going to cost practically what it would cost to fly from Miami to London! Website after website showed much the same price until a friend suggested Claudia try buying a ticket at the magic hour – just after midnight Wednesday till 1am Thursday. And bingo! She found a ticket for 1/3 of what she had seen earlier.
Is it really cheaper or did Claudia just get lucky? Maybe a bit of both. Claudia was flexible enough in her dates but was constrained by a budget (who isn’t?). She wasn’t looking for any particular airline and was willing to change planes, if need be. After trying all the usual sites, including airlines sites, Claudia decided to stay up late and give the midnight hour a shot.
Why did it work? Perhaps because people have already planned their weekend travel by Wednesday and airlines could just be discounting remaining seats. There certainly are plenty of “tricks” to getting good rates these days, especially online, such as buying last minute or bidding on tickets or making multiple stops. And as Claudia found out, anything is worth a try in these tough times.
