Red Eye Airfare

[Zander]

Am I crazy or was there a time when you were able to get outrageous deals on airfare at the last minute?

About 4 weeks ago I was going on a trip to Chicago, first time, to tour Columbia. I was planning on taking the Megabus down on a Thursday night. Long story short the bus never showed and I needed to get to Chicago ASAP. My sister and I scoured all the usual sites: cheaptickets, travelocity, priceline, etc. No luck. Least expensive ticket was $800. $800!!! The average airfare from Minneapolis to Chicago is $125.

Was I extremely unlucky or is the last minute deal dead?

 

[snowleopard]

I think part of the issue is that flights are more heavily booked than in the past. They try to fill every single seat these days and if it's full, it's full. I know, if it's the last minute and a seat hasn't sold, why not dump it cheap? Got me, but that seems to be the case.

Does Priceline still operate the way they once started? Dumping last minute seats to those willing to fly odd dates and times? Last I looked they seemed just like everyone else.