LessNo Delivers

I have to admit that they had me worried.

"Airline tickets", someone once told me, "are the most perishable product in the world. As soon as that plane pushes back from the gate, those seats are worthless." So, I knew that there had to be a way to get the seats less expensively.

Now, flying from Boise, Idaho to Milan, Italy is never going to be free, or what many people consider cheap. Out here they use the word "spendy". Which, as near as I can tell, means that something costs a bit of money, but is probably worthwhile.

So, I watched. For about six months I've observed the patterns of airline ticket prices. Here is what I've learned:

• If you buy tickets several months (more than two) in advance, you will pay full price, but you can choose whatever seat you want. I guess the airlines aren't worried about rewarding those who plan ahead.
• If you buy tickets FROM THE AIRLINE ITSELF several months in advance, and the price goes down, you can get a rebate. This is fine if you have a single airline that you fly all the time and want to rack up the mileage with them...and if you watch the price of the ticket.
• About two months before the actual flight, the prices of the tickets begin to drop. How far they drop depends upon how many empty seats are left on the flights for a particular airline. This will continue for up to a month.
• Once the flight reaches a pre-determined fill capacity, the prices go back up beyond what they were originally priced at. This is so the airlines can cash in on those last-minute business travelers.
• Finally, maybe, you can get an amazing deal if you are willing to fly stand-by, and if there are empty seats. This was something I might be willing to do, but my wife really isn't.

Having tracked ticket prices at one week intervals, I arrived on a plan. I knew what the "rock bottom" prices available through the orbitz and travelocities of the world were. But there were no guarantees if there would be flights available at those prices for my itenerary. I would try to "name my own price" by taking the very lowest fare I'd seen, and increasing it by 5%. If they were willing to sell tickets for a price one day, why wouldn't they snap up the opportunity to get more money a month later?

I tried to "name my own price" with priceline and ended up without any airline tickets. Perhaps I was a little bit too naive, but when two airlines responded with counter-offers that were only a few dollars less than full-price tickets, I began to think that the lowest prices I'd seen while doing my due dilligence for air tickets were just an anomaly.

Enter LessNo. I couldn't believe it when I did my search on this little baby and saw prices that were below what I'd bit on Priceline. Well, you can read the previous post about that.

Today I received my confirmation that my inexpensive tickets were confirmed!

We're officially going to Italy!