New Chart Helps Flexible Flyers Find a Flight

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Japan. I'd love to take a month off and visit the cities, temples, and countryside. I'm fascinated by the country's juxtaposition of ancient traditions and modern ambitions."

Travel Motto: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” –Terry Pratchett

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window."

See recent posts by Carl Unger

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Flexible travelers, rejoice! Our friends over at sister site Airfarewatchdog.com have put together a chart that helps you navigate the flex-search mess. The chart shows you which airlines and online booking agents allow you to search with flexible dates, and details the parameters of each.

Here are a few highlights:

Only two booking sites, Travelocity and Cheapair, allow you to perform a true flexible search, spread out over 330 days. But Airfarewatchdog notes those two sites “[are] not very good at guaranteeing that there will be seats available at the fares initially shown in the search.”
If you want to search for flexible international fares, check with Hotwire, Kayak, Orbitz, or Cheaptickets.com. Neither Orbitz nor Cheaptickets claims to offer international flex search, but Airfarewatchdog says they both do. Some airlines will also let you search for international fares.

So, next time you’re thinking, “I feel like traveling, and I don’t care exactly when,” consult this chart before embarking on your search. You’ll save some time and frustration by avoiding sites that can’t help you.

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