Airline Tickets Cheap . . . Guess Where to Go?

I'm flying roundtrip on Northwest Airlines from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh (with one stop each way) and I purchased the tickets for $231.

I purchased them only one week before flying.

Who did I use?

The Northwest Airlines web site.

I had checked Expedia and Travelocity. But then my wife try the airline directly -- which I did.

An advantage for me was having flexibility in my travel schedule since I'm flying alone and I have no meetings scheduled. I'm flying back to check on a small fixer-upper we just purchased.

Originally, I was going to fly on a Friday and return on a Tuesday. Most prices were in the $380 range and up.

Then I checked flying on a Saturday and returning on either a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Prices were showing up on all sites from $450 to $700.

Then I decided to see how much it would cost leaving on a Tuesday . . . great price!!!

Booking directly through the airlines can be a real cost saver.

Last Christmas, we flew one way from Los Angeles to New York on Delta. And then we flew one way from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles on US Airways. Both segments for 5 people was $1,300 total during a holiday period.

We booked one leg through Travelocity and the return directly through US Airways.

I just enrolled in the Northwest World Perks club, too.

We're also enrolled in US Airways frequent flyer club. My son has enough miles for a free trip. But we went to transfer the miles and US Airways was going to charge a $25 fee and $00.01 per mile in addition. So transferring the 17,000 miles I needed would have cost me $195.

So I'm better off flying Northwest.