Last minute fares?
 

At what point does an airline drop their fare to fill up an airplane?

Day of? Night before?

Can someone walk up to the counter at the airport and get a dirt cheap fare?


Where is the best place to get a last minute fare????

There are some websites that specialize in last minute fares and packages (site59.com is one I know of, if you google "last minute travel," others should come up). Most of the major air carriers also offer e-fares each week for cheap weekend fares. However, if you need to go somewhere specific, you're probably not going to find a great fare last minute -- those fares are high to target business travelers. I've read mentions of air courier services, but I've never done it, and it requires that you have a lot of flexibility and free time. With hotels, you'll often find that last minute vacancies are filled with low prices, but that doesn't happen with airfare.

Last minute, Southwest is often a good bet. There's a cap on their prices, it's no-frills and no nonsense, and you might be able to find a friend to sponsor you with a voucher.

UK experience is that anyone wanting to travel last minute must be desperate to fly so last minute fares for scheduled flights tend to be full price

Besides if you could get cheap last minute fares then people wouldn't book early

The exception to this is charter flights where they will sell the seat for anything they can get - but you won't get fed and may have to pay for any airport transfers

Any good websites for charter flights?

Since most airlines deal out their slow-moving seats to consolidators and "opaque" booking sites, and to advertised sales weeks in advance, there's no need to offer last minute walk-ups any discount. As noted by members, walk-ups to the airline ticket counter risk paying the highest fares, not the lowest.

I always believed that last minute tickets were the most expensive. However, when I missed a flight from EWR-OSL last winter I was able to get a $500 AI ticket on Icelandair 3 hours before departure. Granted, it was low season on Icelandair, it was internet/phone not walk-up, and I got stuck in a middle seat in Y but it was indeed cheap. And Icelandair doesn't always offer the lowest advance-purchase fares.

I had to fly to Springfiled Mo a couple weeks ago because my mom was in a car accident. The airfare from msp was $1500 each but I went to last minute travelocity and got airfare, car and hotel for 3 people for $1100 total for Thursday-Tuesday stay. Quite a savings. Check the package deals even if you don't need the car & hotel. I was amazed.

For LH flights look at L'TUR. The have really good last minute offers.