2007-01-26 06:40:16 · 7 answers · asked by Penguin 1 in Travel ➔ Air Travel
In 99% of cases ..no. Ussualy its alot more expensive. Sometimes can you do standby for cheaper fares, but its not often even you will get those....
2007-01-26 06:46:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is a common myth of walking up and buying last minute air fare. The same is for consolidator websites. They dont massively mark down airfare at the last minute. Most travel sites can not and do not sell tickets with in 24 hrs of travel. The reasoning is most are not live ticketing. This means when you make a reservation, it goes into a queue. You may get a confirmation number but that is only for that website. It may take longer than 24 hrs for the company to clear the queue and airlines only hold reservations for 24hrs after they are made.
Travel sites, Priceline and Hotwire included charge booking fee's. ALWAYS Check the airlines before you book anything. Many travel sites can not and do not offer the lower fares airlines have. Some have special fare sales that they do not release to the travel sites.
The other downside is that these travel sites will sell you a seat on a sold out flight. A lot of travel sites do not give you the choice to choose your own seat, so you will be left with what is available at the airport, in the instance of an over sale, you will be bottom of the list for getting a seat if there are any after they clear no-shows and release the blocked rows of seats.
The only purpose a travel site serves is to compare the fares against several other airlines. Take the bottom two or three and then go to the actual airlines website and price and purchase the fare. Its always safer.
If you are with in a few hours of departure you will usually have to go to the airport to buy the ticket. The rates at the ticket counter usually wont be as cheap as what is online. Also, you will be charged a ticketing charge of $15-$20 on top of the ticket price.
Travel sites are great for hotel discounts and package deals you can sometimes do well on as well as cruises. But air fares are always best purchased directly through the airline. You can also book hotels and crusing packages directly from the airlines as well.
But do research and make sure you READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE PURCHASING from ANY website. Use one that is a member of the Better Business Bureau. A lot are traps for uneducated travelers and do not guarantee that the airline will honor their ticket. A few to stay away from include Cheapoair.com, Cheapseats.com, Onetravel.com and Mobissmo. Mobissmo is an aggregate that primarily uses Cheapseats and Onetravel. These two are from the same parent company and are scams. There are so many more out there, but if there are problems with booking, they are a 3rd party and the airline will not be able to help you.
Moral of the story....book with the airlines directly. Walk up fares, be ready to pay. The more full the plane is, the higher the fares will be. Sometimes First or Business Class is cheaper or comparable to the full coach fare.
Most airlines no longer offer Stand-by for the regular paying passenger. In a post 9/11 world, they only want confirmed passengers beyond security. The only people that most airlines will honor as stand-by are employee's, their friends and family and any corporations that have a stand-by agreement with that particular airline. You would have to check with the particular airline as this rule varies. But more than not many airlines no longer have stand-by as an option due to security reasons. Only fills a seat, doesnt gain revenue.
2007-01-26 15:11:11 · answer #2 · answered by southrntrnzplnt 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You will almost certainly get the most expensive ticket on the plane! Last minute tickets are reserved for last-minute flyers. Those who find out they absolutely NEED to be somewhere right now.
On the other hand, you may do very well with getting last minute tickets from a consolidator such as priceline.com or hotwire.com. These sites specialize in selling underutilized inventory, so if a flight is going out soon with an empty seat, they will be more than willing to sell it! I'd recommend looking to purchase one day in advance, though, since these sites won't tell you the exact airline or time of day until after you purchase and provide payment.
2007-01-26 14:50:49 · answer #3 · answered by blmaster 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most airlines no try Southwest
2007-01-26 15:12:35 · answer #4 · answered by G Dogg 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no..its usually alot more expensive & its hassle..prob get bad seats too!!
2007-01-26 22:38:16 · answer #5 · answered by ani 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes and no,,
2007-01-26 14:48:57 · answer #6 · answered by tshark44 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋