Hey all

Maybe a silly question but after my experience with Greyhound thought i should check. If i want to book domestic flights in the US - where can i go to do so? With Greyhound and some other North American companies it seems you need a NA mailing address to do so online - so im stuck as to know whats the next best way - i dont want to just turn up at an airport.

Are there any specific travel companies on the high street or to do it on the phone - arghh confused please help

Michelle

I normally book my flights online using something like Orbitz. As long as you have a credit card, you should be fine.

Greyhound is pretty flexible...You can just show up and jump on the next available bus!

Travelocity, Orbitz, STA Travel you can book with online

alaskan and southwest usually have the cheapest flights.

quote:

Originally posted by xoom:
alaskan and southwest usually have the cheapest flights.

Beware that Southwest and Jet Blue do not show up on the popular booking sites, but they often have the lowest fares.

For my flight up to Portland for the BNA Holiday Party, I booked using Travelocity to get an American Airlines flight (so that I could collect air miles and get an assigned seat) but the flight is really a code-share Alaska Airlines flight. And to confuse matters even more, sometimes the airline's own website has the lowest fare, but with a site like Travelocity, Hotwire, Cheap Tickets or Orbitz you can see amongst the choices. None of us can keep up. Everybody has a different "recipe".

It is meant to be confusing.

Hey michey_b,

I don't *think* you'll have any trouble using your UK credit card to buy air tickets online or by phone. Have you tried? (Greyhound is a whole 'nother animal, and shouldn't be confused with an actual company. )

As far as getting the lowest fare....well, welcome to our version of hell. Easier to offer help if we know where you're traveling from and to. In general, I go to travelocity and punch in a variety of dates for the airports involved. This gives me a decent overview (minus a couple carriers) of who flies there, routing, and price variations. Often, the cheapest tickets involve crap routing, long layovers, multiple stops, etc. Once I've determined the best dates (if flexible) and desired routing or carrier, then I'll go to that airline's website and price it there. I fly Alaska a lot, and it's usually about $10 or so less buying directly from the airline website.

Worth checking the airlines travelocity doesn't include (as static mentioned, Southwest, Jetblue and maybe Spirit?) if you know they also serve those airports, or another airport nearby.

Other than that, I've largely given up trying to beat the system. It's just too confusing and I end up wanting to commit harikari.

Good luck!

P.S. Of course, Boots also sells tickets....(sorry guys!)

thanks guys - just needed some piece of mind. Am looking at booking flights throughout the US as part of my trip where amtrak doesnt go and i can avoid greyhound if at all possible.

The reason im confused is a couple of years ago my brother booked flight whilst in the US with a UK debit card and it wasnt until they went to check in found that all flights had been cancelled due to them not using a US card or having a US mailing address.

But i guess with more e tickets now that should hopefully have helped that problem.

i will give it a go and let you know what happens

Michelle

I hope it works out for you. I remember my Slovenian ex trying to buy a US-UK ticket online at a cheapie site, can't remember which, with a credit card with a Slovenian address and he could not. And I believe it was because of the address. Pretty surprising that in this day and age it wouldn't work.

So I would say - call in advance to be sure, before it is at the last minute. There may be some non-US countries it is okay for, or it may have changed since then, but I think it is a valid concern unfortunately. It seems like it shouldn't matter with a credit card (and maybe it won't because it is a UK address and not an address in some small country that is confused with Slovakia, and overall your situation is not exactly the same as this one) but you're better off checking in advance for sure.

Yeah, check out Yahoo Farechase they normally search all other sites except Sky Bus and Southwest and Allegiant Air, which are the three cheapest airlines in the states.

Otherwise check if megabus (yup we've got it too, but it may not accept your credit card, someone else should be willing to book it for you since it is a small charge and you can pay them cash) runs where you need to go. It is nicer than greyhound. Also there are sometimes rideshares offered on the local Craigslist.org websites.

Just to add to Static's post...he's right about Southwest not showing up on the popular booking sites. JetBlue, though, does show up on some of them (for example Kayak and Side Step) but not others (Orbitz for example).

Jetblue is always good!