Who knows about cheap flights ?

[Bob Perry]

Would like to fly from Providence RI (PVD) to Valdosta GA (VLD) on 2/16 and return from VLD to PVD on 2/19. To visit my son Andy and attend the DSCF. Looking for a good cheap ticket !

[Mr E]

Sure hope you find a good price, Bob. We are excited you will be attending DSCF. Looking forward to seeing you.

[Bob Perry]

Thanks Mr. E ! Even if I have to sit out on the wing and hang on, I'll be there ! BTW if any other snowbirds wanna fly down let me know and we'll buy tix together !

[Yogie]

Wish you could stop by and pick me up Bob.
I've been talking to Gray Cub about it some, he's afraid of heights but thinks he might be able to do it for $50 bucks.

[Joe Malinowski]

Hey Bob, I like Jet Blue and Southwest, not sure if they go where you arre headed though. I have done OK with Cheap Air in the past too. Have fun and good luck.

[Mike in Louisiana]

We could send Harold R up that way and pick up all you northen boys (being nice this morning)

Can't really tell you the cheapest way but glad you will be seeing Son and making the DSCF.

[Bus Driver]

I don't fly often- but I enjoy it. Southwest had by far the best offer when I flew one-way to Philly to pickup a vehicle to be driven back to NC. The fare was less than 10% of the cost of the highest quoted fare. Perhaps that was Delta, don't remember for certain. The Southwest flight left within one minute of the scheduled departure time.

[Harold R]

A quick browse of the internet travel sites show Delta with the fewest connections, and most of the fares fall into the $400 to $500 range. I'm going to say that's about average for that time of year. This is what I recommend to folks that ask me about traveling, and there's probably others on here that travel on an expense account, (Wisconsin Mike?). Do an internet search of airlines that service Providence, RI to Valdosta, GA. Look for the fewest stops and the most frequency. Then, go to that particular airlines web site and do your shopping. Fewer stops=less opportunity for your luggage to have a vacation on it's own.
More frequency= better chance of getting where you wanted to go in case of delay, or cancellation. I would generally say those two points are worth paying a little extra for...."little" being the key word. Travel agents? They can be very helpful, but keep in mind, they have to make money too. Their routing isn't always the most convenient, or cheapest available to the person actually paying for the ticket. It may just be what gets them the most commission. Also, I'm not 100% sure that Southwest Airlines participates in the online fare comparison sites. You may have to go directly to their website. Flexible travel days are a big bonus. +/- a day or two on each end may add up to some real savings. Happy hunting.....and you are wise to start your shopping now. Hope it works out. See you at DSCF.

[Jim Becker]

For most any trip, I start by using ITA Software to do a search.
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
I have found lower American prices on there than I have using AA's site directly (although the fare has always exested on AA when I look for the exact flight). They have made some recent changes that must be some sort of improvement but just seem to make it more complicated. Not sure they can look at Southwest, so check there separately.

[Jim Becker]

One more comment. You usually get much cheaper tickets if you can stay with the major airports. For example, right now the cheapest ITA gives for your chosen dates is $522. If you go with a trip from Providence to Atlanta, you can get one for $357 (Delta Airlines in both cases). The $165 ticket difference is a trade off with the 250 miles distance between the two airports.

Lots of nonstop flights to Atlanta (duration about 2:45). Flights to Valdosta almost all stop in Atlanta (maybe others) and have total durations from about 5:00 and up. So continuing on to Valdosta won't even save you that much time.

[Jimdawg]

I've had good results with kayak.com. It will compare the prices of many airlines against each other and will include the results of other discount travel websites (priceline, hotwire, etc). It doesn't include southwest airlines (maybe others).

~ Jim