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Two years ago our travel agent went out of business and we have not found any good deals since. The agency had companion fares and we were able to get really good deals. The first ticket was $199 and the second was $99, there was no limit as long as you bought the pair. We could fly RT from Minneapolis to San Diego for less than $750 for five people, of course we had a "lap child" which we pushed, until she was 4. Those were nice prices, we went 4 summers in a row on those deals. Only two years later and we can't find anything close, of course we'll have to buy 5 tickets this time, but a discount would be nice. The cheapest I can find is $1856, I've checked every online booking site. The deals were through a smaller local travel agent. Does anyone know of a travel agent offering companion fares??
Travel agent look for the 'deals' same place you do, the internet, they just do it full time, Prices go up and down by demand, look for flights on different days/times/airlines. Midweek flights are generaly cheaper.
Btw: $1856 does that include taxes? and extra like baggage? Fares ive seen MSP-SAN are in the $2100 range
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I suspect these higher costs are attributed more to this recession than an inability to find lower fares. One factor is likely higher gas prices. Typically airlines include a "fuel surcharge" in the price of the ticket. Another is the consequent reduction of routes with less people flying. There are fewer seats to fill, thus driving up the prices of the ones available. Another possible factor is less competition between routes, which is related to the previous point in that there are less seats available.
In sum: I believe you're finding more expensive tickets only because airfare just costs more at this time.
Only two years later and we can't find anything close, of course we'll have to buy 5 tickets this time, but a discount would be nice. The cheapest I can find is $1856, I've checked every online booking site. The deals were through a smaller local travel agent. Does anyone know of a travel agent offering companion fares??
First, travel agents have no mystery fares that are completely unavailable to us mere mortals. In fact, in a lot of cases, I have been able to beat a travel agent's fares just by shopping around. For the record, I do not use travel agents for domestic flights; therefore, I would not think about calling one and asking them for the best deals.
Airfares are HIGHLY DEPENDENT on the days and times you can travel. For example, two weeks ado, Southwest offered a $50 OW flight between Chicago and Las Vegas (about $145 RT with all of the taxes and fees). It was available for approximately twelve hours and travel was only available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Also, you generally find the best deals on the airline websites. And don't forget the budget airlines like Southwest, Airtran, Allegiant, and Sun Country airlines as often get some great deals.
I use Airfarewatchdog.com and their e-mail service to notify me of fare specials. They will send you an e-mail two or three times a week. Unless I am really looking for a fare, I will delete the emails ... but if I see a ridiculously cheap fare, I am on it.
I look at alternative airports for better deals. For example, flying between Chicago-Midway to Raleigh-Durham was recently $240. RT However, there was a flight between Chicago - O'Hare and Greenville, NC for $109 RT.
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