Plane Tickets?

[medhopeful08]

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Does anyone know where I can find cheap airplane tickets for all the interview travel? Thanks.

 

[lady bug]

Try hotwire. Downside is that you can't decide your time.

 

[Alcon]

I've had good to excellent results with Travelocity, as well as Orbitz and Expedia. If your times are somewhat flexible, make sure to specify that when you search, since ticket prices vary a LOT.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I think that hotwire/priceline is too risky. Everytime I've tried one of these ticketing services, I've ended up with the worst possible flight times, either forcing me to miss more work, or getting me in way too late for whatever event I'm attending. IMHO it's worth the extra $$ to minimize the variables surrounding interview travel. If I can afford it, I'd rather reduce that element of stress.

 

[soonerpillow]

Travelocity.com and southwest.com are the best that I've found. Tickets to Michigan were $208 roundtrip, with the times I wanted, at travelocity.com, and about $150 with southwest.com

 

[ATPase]

Southwest is the way to go. Plus, if you do their Rapid Rewards (frequent flyer) program, four round-trips will earn you a free ticket or something like that.

 

[dara678]

www.qixo.com

Also try those "cheaper" airlines like Frontier, Spirit, and ATA.

 

[rCubed]

have any of u tried flying in on the morning of the interview and leaving after it?
i don't know if its too hectic, but it would save the money that I would normally spend on the overnight hotel stay

 

[SMW]

Definitely too hectic. And risky. The interview is IMPORTANT. You want to be at your best for it. And you want to be THERE! What if your flight is delayed? 😱 Staying with a student host will give you the straight skinny on the school, get you oriented, and save you a bundle by the end of interview season. Jet Blue is another reasonably priced flight option. I think it would be crazy to not be in full control of your flight times.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

AirTran has good deals on one-way flights (if you wind up having to make a triangle trip b/c you had to schedule two far-away interviews on consecutive days), but be prepared for harassment from airport security ...

rcubed, I would not recommend flying in the morning of, b/c if your flight is delayed or you miss a connection, you are screwed. Also, most of my interview days started by 8:30 (Emory was 7:50), so unless your day starts at 10:30 or later, you probably will not get a flight that gets in early enough. Anyway, the majority of my schools had student hosts, so you save on the hotel AND you get some unbiased info on the school. It also gives you something to talk about in your interview.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Everyone posted a lot of sites. My advice is this...check fares on ALL of them and go with the cheapest one. So check travelocity and orbitz and expedia and southwest.com and americawest.com and jetblue.com, etc. etc. Then just pick the website that had the cheapest fare.

Don't forget to check alternate airports as well. For example, if you are interviewing at a place like Northwestern Midway and OHare are almost the same distance from the school(one is north of the school and the other is south of the school). Check the fares flying into BOTH airports and go with the cheaper one to save money.

If you would like to gain an extra day look into taking a redeye. However, as others have pointed out I would not suggest taking a redeye that lands the morning of your interview. S**t happens and you don't want any delays and what not to adversely affect your interview.

 

[rCubed]

Originally posted by VienneseWaltz
AirTran has good deals on one-way flights (if you wind up having to make a triangle trip b/c you had to schedule two far-away interviews on consecutive days), but be prepared for harassment from airport security ...

rcubed, I would not recommend flying in the morning of, b/c if your flight is delayed or you miss a connection, you are screwed. Also, most of my interview days started by 8:30 (Emory was 7:50), so unless your day starts at 10:30 or later, you probably will not get a flight that gets in early enough. Anyway, the majority of my schools had student hosts, so you save on the hotel AND you get some unbiased info on the school. It also gives you something to talk about in your interview.

thanks for the advice VW and SMW. I thought it would be too hectic also, just wanted to get ur opinions. and most of my interviews do start really early in the morning and i wouldnt' want to take a risk.
i guess student hosts are the way to go