<p>thumper: Just as another data point, last summer we also got a “changed your flight” email. I didn’t even attempt to contact travelocity, but went straight to the airline. They were very cooperative, agreeing that a 5-minute connection wasn’t really feasible and making the change for us with little fuss and no extra cost. After that experience, I’m reasonably comfortable with using travelocity for the initial booking (since the airlines charge extra for that), and then dealing with the carrier if problems arise.</p>
<p>BobbyCT, my son’s college does not publish each semester’s exam schedule until well into the semester. Even though it delays my son’s return home sometimes by a couple days or so, I also just purchase his plane tickets after the last day of exam week. He actually prefers it that way. He enjoys being on campus with his friends when things are lightening up there at the very end of the week, and sometimes he also has final papers due that he can turn in at any point during exam week and it gives him more time with those. We do have a year-in-advance schedule from the college about when the dorms close over Christmas and summer breaks, so he flies back on a red-eye so he’ll arrive at the college the day the dorms re-open.</p>
<p>With my kids, I usually made the travel arrangements the first year, working out details with them by email and then passed the baton to them for subsequent years. They know all the details of convenience they prefer and it is good for them to learn. What I do, though, is give them the cash for travel plans based on low fares and they can do what they want, so it could be a tough lesson if one procrastinates. I always made hte flight arrangements for my kid who was bad with money for just that reason, though she finally got better!</p>
<p>I did learn, don’t wait to see if they can come home sooner than the last day of finals, buy a SWA ticket at the first sale for the likely date. You kid can then watch Ding and change it if they get a different final schedule than shown. Waiting a few times did not turn out to be a smart option.</p>
<p>On several Thanksgiving/Spring break weeks my DD was flying internationally and checked with profs verifying they would actually have class on the Wed, etc. She was always told they would, bought the more expensive, more hassle ticket and every time they canceled Wed class!</p>
<p>In addition to SW, JetBlue and Alaska also don’t charge more for a one-way ticket. However, flyers with one-way tickets may be subjected to additional security screening.</p>
<p>@Kathiep
Great job for your kids learning the “system.” It’s a very useful skill as you have seen.</p>
<p>Having WN (Southwest) serve both your home and your college’s airports is an asset because of their consumer-friendly policies. Plus, the more traditional carriers often match their prices (but sadly, not the free checked baggage) for those of us collecting miles.</p>
<p>LasMa, most airlines don’t charge for booking online (Allegiant is one that does). Until recently, the online travel agencies were charging booking fees and also charging a fee to cancel on top of the airline’s fee. </p>
<p>I definitely agree to get e-mails from airfarewatchdog or a similar site. One side affect is that you may find yourself taking more vacations thanks to the low fares it sent you. I generally find that fares for my destinations are lowest 1.5-2 months prior to departure, although I almost bought a cheap ticket home this weekend 6 hours before the flight.</p>
<p>Any one using Allegiant, you can save around $13 per ticket if you buy at the airport, you can also save something like $7-11 per seat if you elect not to choose a seat at all. The site does not make this obvious, but you can persist and choose no seat and have no seat fee. They are a tough site to navigate and get the best deals, but when a great deal shows up, it can be amazing</p>
<p>Thank you all for the suggestions. I hadn’t heard of student universe. I’ll see how their fares compare with what it’s costing us now.</p>
<p>Studentuniverse is great for international travel. We’ve used them a few times and their rates were great. In addition, if you have to change a flight, the fees are nominal compared to airline fees.</p>