All about flexible travel date airfare searches
When the staff of Airfarewatchdog.com is researching airfares, we always start with a flexible travel date search.
Travelers can often save money if they adjust their travel dates to take advantage of the lowest possible fare between any two cities. Oddly, however, statistics show that most airfare buyers ignore flexible searches. That’s probably because the majority of travelers, such as those going on a cruise or attending a meeting or wedding, need to travel on set dates. But we believe that it’s also because many airfare buyers simply aren’t aware that flexible search options exist, or don’t appreciate the savings that can be achieved by being flexible. But you can save hundreds of dollars simply by going a day or two earlier or later than you originally planned, or by postponing your trip for a month or two (Aunt Freda probably will be just as happy to see you in March as in May).
Here are your options when performing a flexible fare search:
Travelocity.com
All the domestic fares we list that can be purchased on Travelocity have been automatically "deep linked" to the specific search results for that route on Travleocity. Just click on the Travelocity "deep link" in the "how to book" area. These links take a while to "load" so please be patient.
Travelocity's flexible date search shows you fares up to 330 days ahead, with the exception of fares on Southwest, Allegiant, USA3000, and a few other airlines that don’t publish their fares with Travelocity. Travelocity recently added JetBlue's fares, and sometimes it has fares on JB that are even lower than on JB's own web site. Go figure. Spirit Airline's fares sometimes appear in flexible search, and sometimes they don't.
To use the flexi date function on Travelocity, click on the flexible travel dates box, enter the “to” and “from” airports, and click on select. A calendar of supposedly available dates will pop up, usually in green although sometimes in light blue. There is also an option to do a specific date search that returns fares plus or minus one-to-three days from your preferred dates of travel. Travelocity also automatically suggests lower fares from or to airports near those you originally specified in your search (Providence instead of Boston, for instance).
Unfortunately, Travelocity has been forced by the the US DOT to no longer list international flexible searches . Learn More. We hope this situation will be resolved, but it looks like it's permanent. But there is a workaround solution...
Zuji.com
Meanwhile, as an alterative, you can search for international fares using flexible dates by visiting Travelocity's Singapore-based affiliate, Zuji.com. Prices listed on this site are in US dollars, but we don't advise you to book on the site (for one thing, their booking fees are extraordinarily high compared to Travelocity's). Once you find the dates you want, simply go back to Travelocity US and use a specific date search to book. Uniquely, Zuji also does flexible searches for business and first class fares.
See today's 50 Best Airfares!
Cheapair.com
On the plus side, JetBlue's fares are included and, like Travelocity, it shows fares up to 330 days ahead. However, it only returns fares on routes within North America, not international ones.
Cheaptickets.com
This site appears to work on the same software as Orbitz (below). It does the same 30-day-at-a-time search and comes up with exactly the same fares.
Orbitz.com
This site only performs a flexible fare search 30 days ahead, and you must specify the approximate length of your proposed trip, restrictions that don’t exist on Travelocity. Although they claim to only list US and Canadian fares in their flexible searches, in fact they do include international fares as well. However, excluded are fares on Southwest Airlines and several other carriers. Look for the “Flexible dates” link in the lower left corner of the blue box, then choose one of the three options. Domestic and international destinations are supported.
Hotwire.com
Known for its "know the airline only after you buy" discount fares, you can also buy tickets the old fashioned way here. As with Orbitz and Cheaptickets, you can view flexible travel dates only in 30 day increments of your choice. The advantage is that the same search will also show you Hotwire's consolidator fares, which are often great deals when you don't have the usual 7 to 21 day advance purchase.
ITA Software
This company provides the software that Orbitz and Cheaptickets (and many other sites) run on. You can't book fares on the site--it's for informational purposes only--but many people find it easier to do a flexible date search here than on Orbitz. It's free to use, and you can register if you wish, but it's not required. As you might expect, no Southwest, but JetBlue's fares are now included, a welcome addition. Using the flexible search is easy: click on "Looking for airfares?" and then select a month-long search using the radio button in the upper right corner; type in the from and to cities, and choose an outbound date starting, generally, 7 to 14 days from today; hit go. It's easy to search the next 30-day period and the next until you get an idea of fares. You can also search nearby alternate airports. Click on "details" to find out more about the itinerary.
Expedia.com
This site only searches fares between a limited selection of major US cities, although it used to offer a more extensive flexible date search option. No flexible date international fares, no Southwest fares.
Kayak.com
This relative newcomer recently added a modified flex date search. You can specify dates up to three days after and before both your outgoing and return flights. Includes JetBlue fares.
Individual Airline Sites
Some individual airline sites also provide a flexible date search option. Among these are American Airlines (click on the “Dates Flexible” red arrow), Delta has a plus or minus one day flexible search, and American will search domestic fares only over any 31 day period. Southwest Airlines offers a low fare finder that acts like a flexible search function. Air New Zealand displays an easy to read calendar showing dates that its lowest sale fares are offered.
Of course, flexible travel dates don’t work for everyone (college kids on school break, or last minute business travelers to name two categories). But if you like to save money and your travel dates aren’t set in stone, we highly recommend bending a bit.
