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Old 10-02-2012, 03:22 PM
 
40 posts, read 55,473 times
Reputation: 12

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We're thinking of visiting relatives in California for Christmas,
Some time from December 21st to the 29th. We're planning on
leaving from Bradley and going to San Jose, although I think the San
Fransisco airport in cheaper.

Any suggestions for when to buy tickets and which airline to go with?

Thanks!
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Old 10-02-2012, 04:47 PM
 
21,619 posts, read 31,202,923 times
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I got incredibly cheap flights on Virgin America from JFK->LAX recently. It was $109 each way. I caught it on a Tuesday afternoon at about 3 PM on Kayak.
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Old 10-02-2012, 06:47 PM
 
837 posts, read 2,082,610 times
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Ticket costs will be escalated during that period for obvious reasons.

If you wanted to look at specific airlines, here are my top 3 picks for budget traveling:
  • Agree with kidyankee that Virgin America is one of the cheapest airliners around. Virgin also features some high-tech stuff aboard their flights (screens on the back of each chair, satellite tv, XM radio, etc.) However, I'm pretty sure they do NOT fly out of Bradley. You would have to go down to NYC and take it out of JFK or LGA. Alternatively, you can catch Virgin America flights out of Boston's Logan Airport, as well.
  • Opposite to Virgin America is Spirit Airlines; they are a "no frills" airline in that you don't get any amenities (no TV, no food, etc.) but it really helps to keep costs low.
  • Similarly, Southwest Airlines is supposed to also be really cheap with their no baggage fees rule, and a no-frills experience. Locally, they have flights out of LGA and Newark.
Other miscellaneous tips:
  • Flying during the middle of the week and/or doing a red-eye flight is always the cheapest flying option.
  • I always keep an eye out on Travelzoo.com since they always post smokin' travel deals, but you may have to be flexible on the dates/times. Deals are also not a guarantee during the Christmas period.
  • There are some occasional instances where you can actually get a better deal by booking directly through the airline, instead of going through a travel site like Expedia.
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Old 10-02-2012, 07:21 PM
 
Location: New London County, CT
8,949 posts, read 12,135,783 times
Reputation: 5145
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghazal71 View Post
We're thinking of visiting relatives in California for Christmas,
Some time from December 21st to the 29th. We're planning on
leaving from Bradley and going to San Jose, although I think the San
Fransisco airport in cheaper.

Any suggestions for when to buy tickets and which airline to go with?

Thanks!
You're not flying during a time when the airlines are likely to offer discounts. Fares will likely only go up. Although, you've been offered good advice, I would search all the airport combinations that are palatable to you, and buy the cheapest ticket now. I don't see prices going down between now and the Holiday week.

For outbound airports you may want to consider Bradley, Providence, La Guardia, JFK, Westchester and Boston Logan. In the Bay Area consider San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco.

Good luck.
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Old 10-03-2012, 05:45 AM
 
Location: Woburn, MA / W. Hartford, CT
6,125 posts, read 5,097,494 times
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This may not fit your holiday plans as nicely, but if you can consider traveling on Dec 25 and returning on Jan 1, the fares are typically lower and the planes/airports are a lot more manageable.

We fly to SJC/SFO a lot, and rule of thumb is if you can get RT fares < $400 from BDL, grab it. SW is probably going to be your best bet from BDL, but you may want to look into Jet Blue which flies from Logan to SJC non-stop.
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Old 10-03-2012, 05:54 AM
 
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,029,371 times
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Watch out for Spirit Airlines. The airfare might be cheap, but then they rape you on the baggage:

Spirit Airlines increases fees for carry-on and checked baggage | Fox News
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Old 10-03-2012, 06:24 AM
 
21,619 posts, read 31,202,923 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ View Post
Watch out for Spirit Airlines. The airfare might be cheap, but then they rape you on the baggage:

Spirit Airlines increases fees for carry-on and checked baggage | Fox News
YES! Precisely why we spent more to go with JetBlue for our November cruise. Even if the baggage works out to be cheaper (in this case, all in all JetBlue was $30 more expensive), we still did not fly with Spirit out of principle.

Be careful of AA too - you might end up in the lap of your fellow passengers behind you.
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Old 10-03-2012, 11:18 AM
 
40 posts, read 55,473 times
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Thanks for all the great tips. Appreciate it a lot!!!
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Old 10-03-2012, 01:47 PM
 
Location: Southwestern CT
209 posts, read 607,961 times
Reputation: 84
We love Jet Blue.... sometimes you can get a deal, sometimes it costs a little more but IMO it’s so worth it either way. Similar to Virgin you have TV screens on the back of each chair, satellite radio and TV and my favorite is the channel showing the map where it shows the planes altitude, speed and location. When you put this channel on you hear your satellite radio channel of choice. I have heard other airlines having headaches and granted Jet Blue isn't perfect either. However, I have never, ever had any troubles with them. Plus we fly them pretty "frequently" and seem to rack up miles. I've only been flying on Jet blue for a year and nine months and I've already had a free flight due to mileage points earned. Agreed that you are flying on a very expensive time of year and flying out of BDL won't "help" you but if you are flexible on your days and airports and consider JFK also you might score decent tickets. Sooner rather than later for purchase time. Also, sign up for jet blue emails because they randomly run specials with a certain percentage off fares, etc. Good luck.
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Old 10-03-2012, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Milford
160 posts, read 446,825 times
Reputation: 66
Bradley is going to be way more expensive than LGA / JFK.


Check JFK / LGA flight combinations.
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