The Best, Last Minute Airfare Deals

by
January 20, 2014

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Is there such a thing as a 'Last Minute Airfare Deal' anymore? Probably not.

Whether you decide to book your flights two hours or three days before takeoff, you will most likely be paying the same amount for your airfare. Airlines are notorious for charging absurd amounts for last-minute travel. You have a decent chance of getting a pretty good deal if you book seven days before takeoff and you can be confident to get the best price if you book two weeks in advance. A question that I get most often is are there any last-minute deals to fly anywhere anymore? To be honest, on most airlines the answer is no.

US Airways has the best last-minute deals (booking within three days) but you will most likely have to suffer a long layover to benefit from the savings. Let's take a quick look at the costs going from Denver to Los Angeles comparing four major airlines that compete on that route (SouthwestUS AirwaysUnited Airlines, and Frontier Airlines):

Untitled spreadsheet
***Searched January 20, 2014***

Most of us who book within that three-day window and especially those of us who travel frequently for business have no choice but to pull out that credit card and pay these ridiculous premiums so we can get to where we need to be. Or at least we think that we don't have any options, but for the savvy business traveler - they are learning that there are additional options.

Take JetSuite for example. You've probably never heard of them before because they are a private jet charter company and may only seem affordable to those with very steep pockets. Think again, JetSuite has adopted a Southwest-like model for the private jet charter business and their SuiteDeals announced 24-hours in advance on the company's Facebook Page has proved to be a very lucrative marketing tool for them and a very lucrative travel deal for all of us.

With over 44,000 likes on their page today, they are continuously selling last-minute deals on private jets across the regions they operate (mainly the northeast and southern California). Starting at a flat rate of $536 (some flights $999 or $1499), you can secure an entire Embraer Phenom 100 for four passengers or a Citation CJ3 for six passengers.

When you compare this to the airlines' pricing mentioned above, this deal is incredible and most likely the best available on a regular basis today. In most cases, per passenger pricing is less than that of the airlines ranging starting at $134 plus you will be flying on a private jet. And if you are flying first or business class, purchasing the entire aircraft for yourself is of more value because of the amount of time you will save by flying private (Check out Fresh Jets case study on business travel).

Airlines' prices go up as the departure date approaches and private jet 'empty leg' prices go down as the departure date approaches because of opposite economic effects. Airlines have less supply available and higher demand within a week of departure and private jet companies have more supply available and not many changes in demand. Why don't we already know about the 'empty leg' option? The technology hasn't existed to aggregate these options for the passengers until recent.

Unless your company has a pre-arranged agreement with either an airline or travel management company (that pre-arranges the deal with the airlines on your company's behalf), you will be in the same predicament as most of us which is not knowing where to look for last-minute airfare deals. My advice is to avoid online travel agencies such as OrbitzExpedia and Travelocity at all costs because you will most likely end up paying more. If you must book with an airline (within three days), check the airlines that have major hubs in your city and compare them to US Airways.

As technology improves, there will become more options readily available to passengers like you and me. A la Fresh Jets, a platform designed to aggregate similar deals on private jet flights similar to those flights currently offered by JetSuite. If your company works with a travel management company or manages travel internally, the Fresh Jets' platform will compliment your company's travel options and allow for savings on last-minute travel needs that you can't find anywhere else.

By Timmy Wozniak Co-founder and CEO of Fresh Jets.   aggregates private jet schedule and pricing information and matches inventory to the  needs of businesses and individuals instantly.

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