Knowing when to buy an airline ticket is a gamble -- but thanks to several new Web sites, the odds of winning are increasing.
Farecast (www.farecast.com) is a terrific site that helps travelers find the cheapest fares for trips up to 90 days in the future -- then the site predicts whether that fare will go up or down.
Based on that prediction, travelers can either buy now -- or wait.
No matter what that decision, here's where Yapta, my new favorite Web site, goes to work. Yapta -- as in www.yapta.com -- will monitor your flight and fare and flag you with an e-mail alert if the price drops.
If you've already purchased your ticket, you haven't necessarily lost. You may be eligible to collect the difference between what you paid and the new lower price in the form of a refund or voucher good for future travel, depending on your airline's policy.
Seattle-based Yapta, founded by Tom Romary, a former vice president of marketing for Alaska Airlines, allows travelers to tag specific flights either before or after buying a ticket. So far, the system can monitor flights offered by 10 U.S. carriers: Alaska, JetBlue, American, Delta, Continental, United, US Airways/America West, Frontier, ATA and AirTran.
Missing from its lineup are Southwest, one of San Diegans' most frequently flown airlines, and Northwest. Also, MAC users can't yet use Yapta's tagging service.
"We're working on all those things," said Yapta spokesman Jeff Pecor. "We'll be adding airlines on an ongoing basis. We had Southwest at one time -- but it was difficult to capture accurate pricing. It was a technical issue. We expect to have it back soon."
The biggest airline ticket price swings occur 45 to 14 days before departure, says Romary.
To use the tagging service, users must download Yapta. Once they do that, the Yapta tagger logo automatically appears when travelers pick flights on airline Web sites monitored by the system. You don't have to buy -- just click the tagger button and the flight will automatically be registered under "My Trips" on your Yapta home page.
"Yapta becomes part of your shopping experience," Pecor said. "Go to My Trips to see all the flights you've tagged -- and updated pricing. If you tag something 90 days out, approximately 40 percent of those ticket prices will drop."
Travelers get an e-mail alert when the price drops on a trip they've tagged. If they've already purchased the ticket, Yapta lets the traveler know the amount of refund or voucher he or she may be entitled to -- deducting any change fee levied by the airline that sold the ticket.
Alaska, JetBlue and United will refund the fare difference in the form of a voucher good for travel within the year, with no change fees. Most other airlines will deduct a change fee from the fare difference before issuing a voucher.
"Let's say you purchased a flight on Alaska Airlines for $500," Pecor explained. "If the price drops to $350, Alaska will credit you the full $150 difference in the form of a voucher good for future travel. They do not charge a change fee. However, if you bought a ticket from Frontier Airlines for $500 and the price dropped to $350, they will give you a voucher for $115 because they charge a $35 change fee -- because essentially, they are re-booking your ticket at the lower price.
At least for now, travelers must get their own vouchers -- but Yapta is working on that, too: "Maybe down the road, we'll get the vouchers on behalf of travelers -- and charge a fee for the service," Pecor said.
Reader's tip
ExpressJet -- "I read with interest the Reader's tip of Aug. 26 and would like to offer a different view. I recently flew ExpressJet from San Diego to Colorado Springs and back, and could not have been more pleased with the efficiency and the service. It was a pleasure to leave from the commuter terminal instead of the main terminal, and I was very surprised that we were served breakfast on my early flight out. On my arrival in Colorado Springs, I had my checked baggage within five minutes of arriving at the baggage area. On the return flight, I was surprised again to be served lunch, and although I had to wait longer for my baggage, it certainly beat the wait that one usually experiences at the main terminals. The planes are new and the seat space is decent. ExpressJet is my new favorite airline." -- Dorothy Sieckman, Carmel Mountain Ranch
Got a tip? A favorite inn or getaway? We'll share your scoop with readers. Send your tips to [email protected] or mail to Latitudes and Attitude, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112. Please include prices, Web sites, addresses and phone numbers for the places you write about. And be sure to include your own daytime phone number. Alison DaRosa can be reached at (619) 293-2036.
