<p>My D may be attending Tulane in the fall. Since my older S goes to school within driving distance from our home , I have not had much experience getting plane tickets for trips home. We live in New york and wondered how most students handle this? Do they buy a one way ticket at the start of school in August and then a round trip ticket for the first trip home such as Fall Break or Thanksgiving? How far in advance do you buy the tickets? a few months, a few days etc. Do you need to get the tickets for Holiday travel earlier?
Also We will be attending Honors Weekend in April and we are looking to get the plane tickets but we haven't gotten any specific information from Tulane other than the dates. Do you know when they will be providing that information? Is it a Sunday morning to Monday night event as someone else reported on a different thread? I also noticed that tickets were more expensive if we cam home on Monday night instead of Tuesday morning. Since New Orleans is a weekend Travel destination is this something we can expect throughout the year.
Thank you in advance for any information you can share.</p>
<p>Also admitted to tulane and wondering the same thing. Live in NY as well. The cheapest flight i have seen is 218 on delta flying out of westchester with 1 stop.</p>
<p>If you would like direct flights, Delta flies from Laguardia to New Orleans and JetBlue flies from JFK to New Orleans. Once you know when move in day is, you book that flight. They do not advise booking the Thanksgiving flights until Fall schedules are finalized, as the student may change some classes during the first week. It seems daunting when you are looking at it for the first time, however, with two kids who both take flights to schools, you definitely get used to it:) My son is a freshman and absolutely loves Tulane. Best of luck!</p>
<p>We live in the DC area, and AirTran seems to provide the least expensive flights. I get regular emails from AT notifying me of airfare sales, so I book as soon as I can when the sale window for a particular holiday/etc opens up. I have been able to buy several one way tickets with no price penalty, and then buy the return when the next sale is announced. It does take a certain amount of faith that there will be something available for the return, but so far it has worked out well for us. BTW, our S, a freshman, loves Tulane. Best of luck to your family.</p>
<p>We have always flown Southwest (to/from Providence). It does usually require a plane change, but for a long time they were the cheapest (plus I had built up a lot of free flights). They still often have really great deals with decent planning. For example, planning about 6 weeks ahead I saw $109 each way with one plane change in either Chicago or Houston. That was out of Newark, but LaGuardia was similar.</p>
<p>Doesn’t Southwest have a relationship with AirTran? Anyway, I know with Southwest they have a “Low Fare Calendar” which shows you the lowest fares on each day.</p>
<p>I’m a New Orleanian with 2 children away in school. Because of tuition expenses,I book the first ticket separately,when they first attend the school. After the first year, I book a round-trip in May when they come home. You have to book early for the Thanksgiving holiday. There is a major football event(The Bayou Classic) in NOLA during the week of holiday that attracts people plus it is a major tourist destination in November. Also if your child is going home during Spring break,check your calendar and figure out when Mardi Gras occurs,so that you don’t get stuck with higher prices. Sometimes,I have had to drive to Baton Rouge or Gulfport,Ms to get a decent flight.</p>
<p>Southwest Air is the best airline to take. Delta flies into NOLA but there are many Delta horror stories about getting stranded in Atlanta.</p>
<p>We fly Southwest from MacArthur Airport on Long Island. It generally costs a little more than LaGuardia, but for us, the convenience is worth it and the parking is much cheaper. You have to change in Baltimore but the layover is only about an hour. Southwest doesn’t charge for 2 suitcases/passenger.</p>
<p>Thanks Vitrac. I forgot to mention that one needs to take into account the baggage fees most others charge when comparing Southwest fares. That still drives me nuts that most airlines do that.</p>
<p>Another great thing about Southwest is that you can change flights with no penalty–they credit your payment to the new one, so it allows you to lock in fares early–and then rebook (even the same flight) if the fare goes lower. I generally book early–especially for Thanksgiving–knowing that I have some flexibility once my kids know their schedule. You can also book one way at no penalty, so I book both legs separately in case I want to change one without losing a better fare on the other leg. Between this flexibility and no baggage fees, I told all of my kids they could only apply to school in cities where Southwest flies (and all 3 of them did).</p>
<p>Continental flies to NOLA from Newark two or three times daily and that works out the best for us (we are in NJ), however if we wait to book flights sometimes my D has to connect somewhere or we use Jet Blue to JFK. It’s really not that big of a deal. Also, for the August “one way” flight, Continental allows you to buy a round trip and not book the return until you need to…so you can use the return for May. I believe Jet Blue is very easy for one way trips.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all of this great information. It seems a little daunting at first but after hearing your suggestions I have more confidence in our ability to figure out what will work best for us. My initial inclination was to avoid stopovers but Im now thinking that its not such a big deal especially if it means savings on the price.</p>
<p>Agentmnm-definitely true!
Between Southwest’s free luggage (6 suitcases if kid and both parents are traveling) and Bed Bath and Beyond’s program, move in day was absolutely manageable!</p>
<p>My daughter most likely will be a freshman next fall, and living in Memphis we will drive her and her belongings. She will be able to non-rev home space available as I am a pilot for Delta. My take on air fares is don’t accept conventional wisdom about who is cheapest. If you live in an airline’s hub, you are likely to pay more. Southwest does not sell through any of the discount travel sites, and consequently they are rarely the lowest fare in competitive city pairs. They are getting a lot of mileage on the bags fly free campaign. Bags don’t fly free anywhere. Its either a cost you choose to include, or a cost included for you. The reason the legacy airlines are charging for bags is twofold, the revenue is not taxed by the DOT as are tickets, and it enhances loyalty/frequent flier programs. If you are a FF, or have the preferred Credit Card, no fee and they have you. Southwest does some things very well and if they are the cheapest then I’m all over them. It’s usually worth the effort to hit Expedia, Orbitz and Kayak and then check Southwest. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I certainly don’t disagree that it is smart to check all sites and compare, but since many Southwest tickets are cheaper than checking 2 bags on these other airlines, it doesn’t matter how much the tickets are discounted. But they are only that cheap if one can plan ahead by at least 6 weeks, usually. Although airline ticket pricing is bizarre and unpredictable no matter who the airline is. And of course if you buy on Expedia, etc. your change options are severely limited and expensive. At least that has been my experience.</p>