Peter Greenberg: What's the Best Airfare Site?

By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-09-10

What's the best single Web site to get the lowest-cost airfares?
Thanks.
-Cathy, Morrison, Colo.

To be honest, if there was one, single “best Web site,” everyone would use it. The simple truth is, the more sites you search, the more sure you can be that you're getting the 'best' price.

One fairly easy way to cast a large net in terms of searches is to use a 'meta-search' engine. This type of site searches other travel-search engines for the best prices, effectively comparing and combining the best of the most prominent basic search engines like Orbitz, Travelocity, and (AARP provider) Expedia.

Meta-search sites include Farecast.com, Kayak.com, Sidestep.com, and Mobissimo.com. These are a good place to start. Once you've found your ideal flight, always check with the relevant airline's Web site. Sometimes, you can find an even better price or earn extra frequent-flier miles by doing this.

And if you really want to have some fun, log on to www.onetime.com. It searches lots of Web sites (including the ones named above) simultaneously on multiple screens on your computer.