Travelers flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport shouldn't forget that Southwest Airlines is king there. More than half of all BWI passengers fly Southwest, yet the discount carrier doesn't list its fares on any sites but its own.
Southwest, which has 172 daily departures from BWI, just released its schedule through August 3. If you want to book Southwest for summer travel, remember - it's first come, first served to get the best Web-only fares.
You can still wager to name your own price for round-trip flights auctioned off through Priceline.com. But you can't choose the airline or departure times, and nonstop trips aren't guaranteed. (Priceline dropped its $5 booking fee in November.)
Flexible travel dates also can mean savings.
For most airlines, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the slowest days, so they're the best days to fly if you want to lock in low fares, said Tom Parsons, founder of BestFares.com. Travel on Fridays and Sundays or Monday mornings - which many of us have to do - and you'll pay more.
"If you don't have to fly when the families are traveling, you can walk away with the best bargains," Parsons advised. "Just be flexible, flexible, flexible."
Also, know when to search airlines' fares, said FareCompare.com's Seaney.
Airlines file updates of their fare schedules three times a day: 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and at 5 p.m. on weekends, Seaney said. If you're shopping for tickets, book them before Thursday evening, when many fare increases go into effect for the ensuing week, he said.
Last-minute tickets tend to be least expensive Wednesday mornings, according to Consumer Reports. That's when airlines try to fill unsold seats on flights for the next week to 10 days.
Longtime consolidator Bestfares.com, which negotiates with airlines and directly sells tickets for them, offers such spur-of-the- moment getaway packages that can be booked just hours and up to three weeks before you depart, Parsons said. Members who pay the travel agency's $60 annual fee receive extra savings. And Parsons said his site is less opaque than Priceline, because it allows you to choose your flight times and airline.
Heading somewhere warm for a spring break? Buy your tickets now. Prices will go up as more seats for popular destinations are booked. Most of the deals to Florida destinations have already been gobbled up, Parsons said. But if your spring break in Baltimore isn't the same week as the majority of schools in the Philadelphia area, flying out of Philly might present the better deal.
Come February and March, be on the lookout for early-bird specials to Europe. With the new "open skies" agreement signed between the U.S. and Europe kicking in March 28, carriers should add more trans-Atlantic flights to their schedules.
Of course it's cheapest to fly to Europe during winter, in the off-season.
One trick if you want to go to multiple destinations: get a bargain fare for the trans-Atlantic leg, then use European discount airlines to travel within the continent. Flycheapo.com tracks deals from low-cost carriers there. Seaney's Web site, FareCompare.com, is also known for locating some of the best international deals.
Leisure travelers should be able to continue to lock-in deals in 2008, paid for by steeper increases for business travelers with more discretionary income, Parsons said.
"It's the business travelers we have to thank because they're going to subsidize our cheaper tickets," he said.
laura.mccandlish@baltsun.com
