Alaska Airline Tickets
Feb 15, 2009, 2:00 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,196
That's a VERY complicated question. Alaska Airlines, which (by far) dominates the market, is currently deciding to charge very high prices--$550 just from Seattle, $600+ from Los Angeles or Chicago, and $900 from the east coast (the few cities it serves--BOS [Boston], EWR [Newark], DCA [Washington, DC], MCO [Orlando], and MIA [Miami]).
Fortunately, other airlines do serve Alaska (CO [Continental], DL [Delta], NW [Northwest], AA [American], and US [US Airways]), and you can usually find lower prices on them. Some of them are only seasonal, though. Sometimes, these airlines actually file decent fares from random places--for example, right now, CO has an under-$500 fare from Hartford, CT, which is a pretty screamin' deal. Not sure why they picked Hartford to offer that fare, but hey--take what you can get, I guess.
Since there are a lot of factors affecting prices, we'll need some more details before we can help guide you to some better prices. For example, I see you're in Alabama by your profile. Where in Alabama? Which airport[s] are you planning on flying out of? If it saves a substantial amount of money, how far are you willing to drive--can you drive to Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville, or other places? And how flexible are your dates? If you're just looking for a trip of any length anytime in the next year, you stand a much better chance of finding a good fare than if you can only fly up on, say a Friday and return on a Monday because you can only take a four-day weekend off from work, and the trip has to be in the second half of July.
Some links to check:
1. http://www.farecompare.com -- one thing to try is their map of airfares FROM Anchorage, which, since airfares are nearly always filed bi-directionally (i.e. an ANC-LAX airfare also works LAX-ANC), would allow you to see which airports near you have cheap fares. (For example, right now, there is an airfare filed between ANC and BNA [Nashville] for $659, though you'd need to look more in detail to see which dates those fares are filed for and have seats available for.) Also set alerts for airfares to/from ANC at http://www.farecompare.com/mytrips/index.html
2. http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl Similar to the above map: put ANC in and you will see the top cheapest flights between ANC and any cities in the Lower 48
3. Airfare Watchdog's list of deals to ANC at http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/Arriv...C/Default.aspx
4. Set Travelocity FareWatcher alerts at http://travel.travelocity.com/mystuf...FareWatcher.do
5. Subscribe to Scott McMurren's Alaska Travelgram to receive travel news and the occasional alert for a good deal to/from Alaska: http://www.alaskatravelgram.com/
6. http://www.travelocity.com -- Use the "Flexible Dates" option to put in a city pair and find which dates work for the given airfare
7. http://www.kayak.com -- another place to look for available fares
8. Once you find the cheapest airline on a given date that works for you on one of the above websites, check that airline's website directly to see if they have the lowest fare (they usually do), plus you often get bonus miles for booking directly with the airline
Hope this helps!
Fortunately, other airlines do serve Alaska (CO [Continental], DL [Delta], NW [Northwest], AA [American], and US [US Airways]), and you can usually find lower prices on them. Some of them are only seasonal, though. Sometimes, these airlines actually file decent fares from random places--for example, right now, CO has an under-$500 fare from Hartford, CT, which is a pretty screamin' deal. Not sure why they picked Hartford to offer that fare, but hey--take what you can get, I guess.
Since there are a lot of factors affecting prices, we'll need some more details before we can help guide you to some better prices. For example, I see you're in Alabama by your profile. Where in Alabama? Which airport[s] are you planning on flying out of? If it saves a substantial amount of money, how far are you willing to drive--can you drive to Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville, or other places? And how flexible are your dates? If you're just looking for a trip of any length anytime in the next year, you stand a much better chance of finding a good fare than if you can only fly up on, say a Friday and return on a Monday because you can only take a four-day weekend off from work, and the trip has to be in the second half of July.
Some links to check:
1. http://www.farecompare.com -- one thing to try is their map of airfares FROM Anchorage, which, since airfares are nearly always filed bi-directionally (i.e. an ANC-LAX airfare also works LAX-ANC), would allow you to see which airports near you have cheap fares. (For example, right now, there is an airfare filed between ANC and BNA [Nashville] for $659, though you'd need to look more in detail to see which dates those fares are filed for and have seats available for.) Also set alerts for airfares to/from ANC at http://www.farecompare.com/mytrips/index.html
2. http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl Similar to the above map: put ANC in and you will see the top cheapest flights between ANC and any cities in the Lower 48
3. Airfare Watchdog's list of deals to ANC at http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/Arriv...C/Default.aspx
4. Set Travelocity FareWatcher alerts at http://travel.travelocity.com/mystuf...FareWatcher.do
5. Subscribe to Scott McMurren's Alaska Travelgram to receive travel news and the occasional alert for a good deal to/from Alaska: http://www.alaskatravelgram.com/
6. http://www.travelocity.com -- Use the "Flexible Dates" option to put in a city pair and find which dates work for the given airfare
7. http://www.kayak.com -- another place to look for available fares
8. Once you find the cheapest airline on a given date that works for you on one of the above websites, check that airline's website directly to see if they have the lowest fare (they usually do), plus you often get bonus miles for booking directly with the airline
Hope this helps!
Feb 15, 2009, 3:36 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tri-State Area
Posts: 4,728
Great find, we're planning cruise and will look into this! Thanks.
Feb 15, 2009, 5:17 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,196
At least...I think it was CO. I think I remember not getting too excited about it because CO doesn't give EQMs to AS Mileage Plan accounts.
The Alaska Travelgram (mentioned above) mentions a $479 fare to/from NYC on NW, so that's another possibility to look into:
http://campaign-archive.com/?u=067e9...&id=fcc3ea8426
(He also mentions the fare to Hartford that I saw, so it wasn't my imagination!)
The Alaska Travelgram (mentioned above) mentions a $479 fare to/from NYC on NW, so that's another possibility to look into:
http://campaign-archive.com/?u=067e9...&id=fcc3ea8426
(He also mentions the fare to Hartford that I saw, so it wasn't my imagination!)
Feb 24, 2009, 12:10 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7
Alaska Airline tickets
Thank you all so much for your response, I will probably use it at a later date. My sister had someone give her some sky miles that didn't work out. I'm going to tell you the situation. CAN ANYONE HELP ME NOW??? 
Please, can anyone help me or give me some advice? My sister’s son is going to be deployed and she wanted to see him before he left. Someone gave her some fly miles for a round trip ticket. When we got to the Delta ticket counter in Birmingham, AL, the Delta ticket agent could not figure out how to enter the correct information into the computer to get it set up. She acted like she was new on the job, was watching everything that was going on around her instead of concentrating on what she was doing, then the DELTA Agent had to call another agent to help her out. We arrived 2 hours before the flight. The Delta Ticket agent wanted information on the person’s tax id or his sky miles number. Which I didn’t have, I thought that was too personal. I tried to contact the person who gave her the miles, he was not in his office and his secretary did not know me, so why would you give a stranger that information out. This went on until 10 minutes before the plane left, I told the DELTA agent that my sister was getting on that plane if I had to buy the ticket for her. Then as she was still taking her time ( she called and told them she had one more to come down to board) had to find her a different layover because the one we had booked on sky miles was full. I told her we had ten minutes for her to board that plane and she still has to go through TSA. When the DELTA agent finally gave her tickets, she was still killing time. I ask her could she go on to get boarded and she said yes, then called her back to get her luggage ticket. We never looked at the tickets, didn’t have time. Now, I get a call from my sister yesterday saying that her return ticket has nothing printed on it. She calls Delta and they tell her she has only a one way ticket booked. I am furious, I called Delta with customer service and get the usual repetition about “yes their agent made a mistake, but he was not there, but he’d be glad to book another ticket for me one way for $$$. “ I told him when I make a mistake It cost me money, and I have to pay for my mistakes. The Customer Service Delta Agent was relentless and I still am furious. My sister was ( ha) booked for return on the 26th of Feb, Can anyone tell me what to do. As I said, she hasn’t got the money for the trip, I am as good as tapped out and am out of state of the original booking in Birmingham,AL, But I will fly back into this airport when I return from this trip I am working on. Please give me some advice. I am a wreck!!!!!!
Please, can anyone help me or give me some advice? My sister’s son is going to be deployed and she wanted to see him before he left. Someone gave her some fly miles for a round trip ticket. When we got to the Delta ticket counter in Birmingham, AL, the Delta ticket agent could not figure out how to enter the correct information into the computer to get it set up. She acted like she was new on the job, was watching everything that was going on around her instead of concentrating on what she was doing, then the DELTA Agent had to call another agent to help her out. We arrived 2 hours before the flight. The Delta Ticket agent wanted information on the person’s tax id or his sky miles number. Which I didn’t have, I thought that was too personal. I tried to contact the person who gave her the miles, he was not in his office and his secretary did not know me, so why would you give a stranger that information out. This went on until 10 minutes before the plane left, I told the DELTA agent that my sister was getting on that plane if I had to buy the ticket for her. Then as she was still taking her time ( she called and told them she had one more to come down to board) had to find her a different layover because the one we had booked on sky miles was full. I told her we had ten minutes for her to board that plane and she still has to go through TSA. When the DELTA agent finally gave her tickets, she was still killing time. I ask her could she go on to get boarded and she said yes, then called her back to get her luggage ticket. We never looked at the tickets, didn’t have time. Now, I get a call from my sister yesterday saying that her return ticket has nothing printed on it. She calls Delta and they tell her she has only a one way ticket booked. I am furious, I called Delta with customer service and get the usual repetition about “yes their agent made a mistake, but he was not there, but he’d be glad to book another ticket for me one way for $$$. “ I told him when I make a mistake It cost me money, and I have to pay for my mistakes. The Customer Service Delta Agent was relentless and I still am furious. My sister was ( ha) booked for return on the 26th of Feb, Can anyone tell me what to do. As I said, she hasn’t got the money for the trip, I am as good as tapped out and am out of state of the original booking in Birmingham,AL, But I will fly back into this airport when I return from this trip I am working on. Please give me some advice. I am a wreck!!!!!!
Feb 24, 2009, 5:07 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MN
Programs: Lots of programs, dirt on all of them!
Posts: 11,938
Unfortunately your post is confusing. You tried to have the ticket issued at the airport? Why didn't you call Skymiles and have the ticket issued over the phone or do it online?
All I can say now is to continue to call Delta until you get the answer you want. If you indeed "paid" for a round trip ticket with the miles, you are due a round trip ticket. But if in the haste and hectic, you only booked the one-way using your friend's miles, then a one-way ticket costs the same number of miles as a round trip ticket and you are SOL. It might be an expensive lesson to learn.
After check in I almost always scoot off to the side and review my travel documents - do I have the right boarding passes? are they all in my name? Is my frequent flyer number correct? Once I was handed the boarding pass for someone else!
John
All I can say now is to continue to call Delta until you get the answer you want. If you indeed "paid" for a round trip ticket with the miles, you are due a round trip ticket. But if in the haste and hectic, you only booked the one-way using your friend's miles, then a one-way ticket costs the same number of miles as a round trip ticket and you are SOL. It might be an expensive lesson to learn.
After check in I almost always scoot off to the side and review my travel documents - do I have the right boarding passes? are they all in my name? Is my frequent flyer number correct? Once I was handed the boarding pass for someone else!
John
Feb 25, 2009, 2:06 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,196
This may be better posted in the Delta forum. I am not familiar with Delta policies.
I, too, am confused why you attempted to book an award flight at the airport counter. I wasn't even aware that airport ticket agents could do such a thing, nevermind on such short notice before a flight.
If it all happened as you describe, I would agree that Delta should cover their mistake. But at this point it is probably a big mess of he-said-she-said, and you're more or less at Delta's mercy.
Not sure what to say other than keep trying.
I, too, am confused why you attempted to book an award flight at the airport counter. I wasn't even aware that airport ticket agents could do such a thing, nevermind on such short notice before a flight.
If it all happened as you describe, I would agree that Delta should cover their mistake. But at this point it is probably a big mess of he-said-she-said, and you're more or less at Delta's mercy.
Not sure what to say other than keep trying.
Feb 25, 2009, 8:24 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: ANC
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 358
2. http://dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl Similar to the above map: put ANC in and you will see the top cheapest flights between ANC and any cities in the Lower 48
Feb 26, 2009, 1:28 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,196
That explains why the graphic never loads for me (though the page does, strangely)! I just assumed it was a browser problem or temporary issue of some sort.
I wonder why--it's not like it cost them anything in GDS lookup fees (since they just displayed based on fares published, which are already in their database), and a single page like that can't drive server costs up by any noticeable amount. And doubly strange that the actual code for the page itself still exists.
Farecompare appears to have dropped any public references to their similar maps, though you can still get in if you know the URL, which I listed above. At least that basically does the same thing as Travelocity (both are based on all published fares, whereas Kayak's Buzz is based only on actual searches), though I always did check both...
I wonder why--it's not like it cost them anything in GDS lookup fees (since they just displayed based on fares published, which are already in their database), and a single page like that can't drive server costs up by any noticeable amount. And doubly strange that the actual code for the page itself still exists.
Farecompare appears to have dropped any public references to their similar maps, though you can still get in if you know the URL, which I listed above. At least that basically does the same thing as Travelocity (both are based on all published fares, whereas Kayak's Buzz is based only on actual searches), though I always did check both...