Surfcrest
September 22nd, 2014, 21:27
When I need to fly somewhere, especially with a long haul included I plan it out taking into consideration the variables that are the most important for me.
IтАЩm not a very big person and so when I fly, I can easily fit into any economy seat and still get enough sleep. A few years back I discovered Premium Economy, with a bigger more comfortable seat that allows me to get up to 8 full hours of sleep. On occasion, IтАЩll fly Business ClassтАжmore often while on business trips.
The first thing that I do when looking to fly somewhere is to pump the route into some flight search engines. On occasion, IтАЩll use Expedia but mostly I use a local alternative called escapes.ca This usually provides most of the alternatives, but doesnтАЩt always take into consideration special routings that I am able to think of outside of the boxтАжbut the search engine canтАЩt. For example, I could take a hopper flight to Seattle for a direct (and possibly cheaper) flight to somewhere you canтАЩt fly direct to from Vancouver. To some smaller airports like in Las Vegas, Palm Springs or Phoenix, I can fly out of Bellingham Washington or Abbotsford BC. I can even suffer the one hour flight to Calgary or Edmonton and catch a charter to some destinations you canтАЩt get to from Vancouver, like Central America or the South East US.
A site that I use to plan these flights out is http://www.flightaware.com
I simply pump into the site what airport I want to look at, to figure out where they have direct flights in and out of in the hopes that I can make one simple connection to that flight for the shortest overall journey time. IтАЩm not a big fan of hanging around airports for long periods of time. Another handy tip is to have a look at the terminal maps for the airports you are flying through to know where their gates are, to avoid any confusion making a quick transfer. Some airports can process passports, put you through customs and a security check all inside the terminal (like in Canada) where as some terminals (like Mexico City) send you outside the building, requiring you to re-start the check-in from the beginning. Knowing that ahead of time is crucial.
Once I figure out who I can possibly fly with and what cities I can use, IтАЩll build itineraries or choices based on the shortest overall traveling times. Many of these search engines will allow you to select Direct Flights or to narrow down the amount of connections you are willing to live with. They will also tell you the journey times for comparison. The shortest journey times are not always the most expensive tickets and visa versa.
IтАЩll compare the prices given on the search engines to what the carriers that IтАЩm looking at are offering direct from their own booking site. I prefer to book with the carrierтАЩs own site when I book online because it allows me to use my Star Alliance or One World memberships, as well it may allow me to know better the equipment IтАЩll be flying in and what seat IтАЩll be most comfortable in. I have a standard seat selection App on my iPhone that I use for that. Many carrierтАЩs online sites have aircraft maps that show you seat availability and allow you to choose when booking. Booking with a search engine wouldnтАЩt allow you to make these types of choices, which is critical if the carrier over books and all the seats are reserved. My least favorite airline put me on тАЬstand-byтАЭ in that unique situation this past winter unilaterally.
Going back to FlightAware, you can use the site to look at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) and from there look to see who is flying in or out of Bangkok. If you hoover your mouse over the тАЬIdentтАЭ indicator, it will tell you what airline it is. тАЬTypeтАЭ will give you a minimum amount of information as to what equipment is flying. If youтАЩve used an App for picking your seat and the airline switches equipment, you may go from having the best to the worst possible seat. Some people check equipment type to compare that with what the airline is reporting so they know whether using the App is reliable or notтАжdepending on who they chose to fly with. FlightAware can also tell you whoтАЩs on schedule and whoтАЩs not if you need someone reliable for a reliable connection.
For a busy airport like Suvarnabhumi, you can expand the Arrivals or Departures by clicking the "more" button beside the Arrivals or Departures. Both Arrivals or Departures are broken down into two columns telling you what has arrived / departed and what will arrive / depart. Use the search tabs to load a specific flight in, if you like.
FlightAware is in real time, so you can see planes coming inтАжcircling for a landing, if you are at the airport picking someone up. ItтАЩs a handy little site that helps for planning your trip better.
Surfcrest
IтАЩm not a very big person and so when I fly, I can easily fit into any economy seat and still get enough sleep. A few years back I discovered Premium Economy, with a bigger more comfortable seat that allows me to get up to 8 full hours of sleep. On occasion, IтАЩll fly Business ClassтАжmore often while on business trips.
The first thing that I do when looking to fly somewhere is to pump the route into some flight search engines. On occasion, IтАЩll use Expedia but mostly I use a local alternative called escapes.ca This usually provides most of the alternatives, but doesnтАЩt always take into consideration special routings that I am able to think of outside of the boxтАжbut the search engine canтАЩt. For example, I could take a hopper flight to Seattle for a direct (and possibly cheaper) flight to somewhere you canтАЩt fly direct to from Vancouver. To some smaller airports like in Las Vegas, Palm Springs or Phoenix, I can fly out of Bellingham Washington or Abbotsford BC. I can even suffer the one hour flight to Calgary or Edmonton and catch a charter to some destinations you canтАЩt get to from Vancouver, like Central America or the South East US.
A site that I use to plan these flights out is http://www.flightaware.com
I simply pump into the site what airport I want to look at, to figure out where they have direct flights in and out of in the hopes that I can make one simple connection to that flight for the shortest overall journey time. IтАЩm not a big fan of hanging around airports for long periods of time. Another handy tip is to have a look at the terminal maps for the airports you are flying through to know where their gates are, to avoid any confusion making a quick transfer. Some airports can process passports, put you through customs and a security check all inside the terminal (like in Canada) where as some terminals (like Mexico City) send you outside the building, requiring you to re-start the check-in from the beginning. Knowing that ahead of time is crucial.
Once I figure out who I can possibly fly with and what cities I can use, IтАЩll build itineraries or choices based on the shortest overall traveling times. Many of these search engines will allow you to select Direct Flights or to narrow down the amount of connections you are willing to live with. They will also tell you the journey times for comparison. The shortest journey times are not always the most expensive tickets and visa versa.
IтАЩll compare the prices given on the search engines to what the carriers that IтАЩm looking at are offering direct from their own booking site. I prefer to book with the carrierтАЩs own site when I book online because it allows me to use my Star Alliance or One World memberships, as well it may allow me to know better the equipment IтАЩll be flying in and what seat IтАЩll be most comfortable in. I have a standard seat selection App on my iPhone that I use for that. Many carrierтАЩs online sites have aircraft maps that show you seat availability and allow you to choose when booking. Booking with a search engine wouldnтАЩt allow you to make these types of choices, which is critical if the carrier over books and all the seats are reserved. My least favorite airline put me on тАЬstand-byтАЭ in that unique situation this past winter unilaterally.
Going back to FlightAware, you can use the site to look at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) and from there look to see who is flying in or out of Bangkok. If you hoover your mouse over the тАЬIdentтАЭ indicator, it will tell you what airline it is. тАЬTypeтАЭ will give you a minimum amount of information as to what equipment is flying. If youтАЩve used an App for picking your seat and the airline switches equipment, you may go from having the best to the worst possible seat. Some people check equipment type to compare that with what the airline is reporting so they know whether using the App is reliable or notтАжdepending on who they chose to fly with. FlightAware can also tell you whoтАЩs on schedule and whoтАЩs not if you need someone reliable for a reliable connection.
For a busy airport like Suvarnabhumi, you can expand the Arrivals or Departures by clicking the "more" button beside the Arrivals or Departures. Both Arrivals or Departures are broken down into two columns telling you what has arrived / departed and what will arrive / depart. Use the search tabs to load a specific flight in, if you like.
FlightAware is in real time, so you can see planes coming inтАжcircling for a landing, if you are at the airport picking someone up. ItтАЩs a handy little site that helps for planning your trip better.
Surfcrest