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.

See our updated flexible date search chart.  And don't forget to visit our very own Flexible Date Search Page, where you can do your own searching.



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). Travelocity used to show international fares on almost all international routes on a flexible date search, but then they ceased doing so for legal reasons. Now, however, mysteriously they are adding back this functionality on some major routes, such as New York to London or San Francisco to Hong Kong. No idea why they're creeping back into searches.  Check out our User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on Travelocity.

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.  For helpful hints and useful tips, check out our User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on CheapAir.com.

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.  Here's our User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on Orbitz.com.

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.  Check out our User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on Hotwire.

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 site now has one of the easiest to use flexible date searches, and shows all taxes. Just enter any departure and return date and click on the blue Flexible Dates link. You'll see a calendar pop up and you can adjust the month of the search using the pull down menu. Only problem is, it shows best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours, so seats may no longer be available.

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), 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.

User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on Allegiant

User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on JetBlue

User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on Southwest

User Guide for a Flexible Dates Search on United Airlines

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.  So now it's time to go to our very own Flexible Date Search Page and do some searching!