Is it a good idea to go to the airport and ask for the next cheap flight to anywhere?
My girlfriend and I are living in Vancouver (BC, Canada). We have the project to directly go to the airport and buy the next cheap round-trip (return) flight ticket to go to any (relatively close) airport for a short week (4 days for example).
Does it seem to be a good idea? Will we likely get some very interesting prices by booking a return ticket so soon (maybe 30 minutes or an hour only) before the departure? We would not be bothered at waiting for 15 hours at the airport in order to get a good deal.
Here is a related post that asks about pricing when booking a flight 1-2 days before the departure and not 1 or 2 hours before the departure and did not address the round-trip issue.
Best Answer
Quite apart from there not being many (if any) discount fares to be had at such short notice at the airport, asking for a random next flight out with seats available is likely going to ring some alarm bells and get airport security (and possibly police) called in while you're asked to wait "while we check what we have available".
What's the most likely reason someone wants to get out, NOW, no matter where to? Because he's on the run from police, or trying to hide from something at least.
Anyway, at your typical airport who'd you ask anyway? There's airline counters that may sell tickets on the spot, but not one "cheap ticket to anywhere" counter, so you'd have to check all of them, write down or remember the offerings, compare them, and then make your decision. Unless you decide on a specific airline and just skip the rest of them of course.
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Can you show up to the airport and get cheap flights?
Can you simply show up at the airport without a ticket and expect to get somewhere for cheap? The short answer is no. Airlines no longer allow you to wait around at the counter in hopes of snagging a "standby flight" and filling the last seat of a departing flight.Do flight prices go down the closer you get?
Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date. According to the CheapAir.com 2019 Annual Airfare Study, you can expect rates to go up after that period.Are flights cheaper last minute at the airport?
Is it cheaper to book a flight at the last minute? We've said this before, but it's worth repeating at the outset\u2014no, it's really not cheaper to book a flight at the last minute. Yes, last minute travelers used to score the occasional fare so low it might have induced shock, but that's no longer the case.How do you get the cheapest flights?
How to Book the Cheapest Flight Possible to AnywhereHOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS - My Best Tips After Booking 500+ Flights
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