One Way Plane Ticket - Why You Need to Shop Around the Online Airline Sites

Here's the flight itinerary... I had intended to travel in May with two other travellers.

This would have been the end of a 14 day cruise. The cruise (by Celebrity Cruiselines - yay! at least they know something about customer relations) is a trans-Atlantic crossing. This means you start in one part of the world and land in a completely different part. Or should I say port?

This also means that you have to buy one way plane tickets (not round-trip like most of us usually travel). Seasoned travellers know that one way tickets and round trip tickets are generally in the same price range and not 1/2 the price as logic would dictate.

Seasoned travellers on a budget also know that you can shop, search and research plane tickets online and find some truly remarkable deals.

See my other page on cheap flights to vote on, rate, discover or add your own best plane travel resources.

But go ahead and try to find a smoking hot offer on one of those 'ticket deal sites' for one way travel...

To make matters even more consuming, our flight plans changed. From three travellers to two. We were leaving in May and we had a tight budget so we were keen on finding that deal of a lifetime - giving us more spending money for tourist attractions and souvenirs. And we only had a few short weeks left to do it!

I'm compiling the prices the online ticket sites are serving up for one way vs. round trip below. Feel free to add your own research findings...

I love Priceline for hotel deals (being able to negotiate your own rate for stellar brand name hotels is priceless) - but for plane tickets I was disappointed.

Furthermore, if you're not flying out of the United States, Priceline's usability is limited.

"No problem," I supposed, "we can drive across the border to Massena, Buffalo or Detroit easily enough and fly from there..."

Seemed a great plan, but Priceline is finicky with one-way plane tickets.

It had seemed hopeful, after all the starting prices were well under $800 per person round trip (Buffalo, New York to Rome, Italy and back).

If you are flying round trip, this could be your best bet for cheap plane tickets (we used Priceline on a 5 star hotel in Myrtle Beach last year and got a gorgeous room with all the amenities for $20/night! It was so good that we stayed longer in Myrtle and less time in our timeshare in Florida!)

Give it a shot. Use Name Your Own Price on Priceline's site - Name Your Own Price® & Save up to 40% off published fares!

I was surfing some of the actual airlines online when I ran across Continental.

Consider this:

• Continental displays one way plane tickets from Rome to the USA at $1700.
  
• Yet round trip is less than $800!
  

Twice the flight time at less than half the price...I don't care about company policy, when it doesn't serve the intended market. Not sure why this company is still viable when they rake their customers so badly...

However, I marvelled over Continental's approach to customer service. This company is so big, yet they were open to interaction with their website visitors and even provid an email link for personal assistance.

I sent my email, politely quoting their prices and asking if I could buy the round trip ticket at $800, but only use it for the return portion of my trip.

Seemed like a win-win. After all the worst result is that Continental would have a few empty seats (but make the same money) and save a few pennies on the meals they serve. Plus, they'd have happier travellers with extra leg room on their way to Italy.

Here's what Continental's service rep said:

"When booking a roundtrip ticket, if the outbound ticket is not taken the return is cancelled and voided."

Nice? I don't think so. Even if that's their policy, they should never tell a web author that they'll take your money, cancel your ticket home, and leave you stranded in Italy.

The conversation continued between Continental and myself (and degraded slightly before I moved on) - but I think you get the point. Continental is clueless at customer service and response.

As it turned out, one of my connecting flights was on Continental...and I was pleasantly surprised at the way staff treats their passengers! They ensured our luggage made it on the plane, fed us a fantastic breakfast, and treated all passengers with the utmost kindness.

I think this may be one of the better ways to book a flight. Saving it until the day we actually depart from here - that's a two week leeway, and look for yourself at the savings here.

Get Great Prices on Last Minute Flights at LastMinuteTravel.com

Priceline Last-Minute Airfare Deals!


Save up to 50% on Last Minute Flights at Hotwire!

I finally lit on Orbitz's Flights Tab today and thought I'd give one more of the online ticket sellers a chance.

Was I surprised! Although the price is still a little high (because I've got a few months leeway), this is the first site that has given me a decent price on a one way plane ticket home from Europe.

$686 per person to be exact. And I know that's going to come down further as we get closer to my flight date.

Or, I could just stay in Italy and shun the US airlines forevermore...

My mid-April update. We finally purchased our airline tickets, and did so at Orbitz. Although my daughter and I won't be seated together, we will be flying for just over $200 per person. This is a far cry from the $800+ price I had found on so many other discount sites for plane tickets or the $1700 price from Continental!

Before you head over to Orbitz's Flights Tab to get your plane ticket priced, let me share a little best price travel secret with you...

Check the prices 3-4 times per day for 2-3 days. You will begin to notice the fluctuations in prices. When the price drops to an incredible deal - and it will given a few day's of watching - book it immediately! Those deals don't last long as thousands of people can be on that site at any given moment, looking for their best deal on a one-way or round-trip plane ticket.

Cheap Plane Tickets
Orbitz's Flights Tab