<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I checked out <a href=“http://www.United.com%5B/url%5D”>www.United.com</a> for prices, but I can’t seem to find any tickets that go for less than $189 (round-trip). I hope I’m not doing anything wrong or am missing something.</p>
<p>Well…it depends on the dates/days of the week/ etc. So if you have flexibility, play around with that, Tuesdays and wednesdays are usually cheaper fares. But I believe I used April 15 and 24 which are Sunday and Monday??
And if you fly out on April 18 and return April 20 you will get $138.00 R/T fare.</p>
<p>what are your travel dates/times? Sometimes they dont offer great prices if you are flying out on a Monday or back on a Friday. Midweek is cheapest. Also, airfare sales often hit the web on Weds., just after midnight…</p>
<p>Oh, I hadn’t thought about the different times, but I’m leaving on Sunday (April 9th) morning (6 AM) to arrive around 7:40 AM. I will be returning on Monday (April 10th), leaving Pittsburgh around 7 PM to return a little after 8 PM. I need to be on CMU’s campus at 10 AM (April 9th) and I will be leaving CMU’s campus after 5 PM (April 10th). Did I leave enough room for transportation between CMU and the airport (checking, luggage, etc.)?</p>
<p>jym626, thanks for that helpful tip. I think I will be looking for prices (and hopefully purchasing) after Wednesday in that case.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Also, I noticed that United airlines and USAirways have departures for Pittsburgh at the same time in the morning. Is this just a coincidence or do airplanes usually leave at the same exact time like this?</p>
<p>Hey choco! We had the same thought at 12:15/12:16! the cheapest I am seeing right now for our times, doing a quick peek at flights, is about $168 plus junk fees, which is about what you are finding. While the Weds trick is a good one, be CAREFUL that you dont get too close to your departure date. If you book less than 7 days in advance you’ll get hammered with high airfares.
** oops, you are already less than 7 days away. I doubt you’ll find much better that wht you have, unless you are a real gambler and wait til the weekend to see what last minute fares pop up. that’d make me real nervous,though… Risky to do that if you have to be somewhere at a certain time.</p>
<p>jym626, in that case, would you advise me to buy the tickets tomorrow (instead of waiting until Wednesday in fear of higher prices or not being able to grab a seat?)</p>
<p>P.S.- I will most likely be purchasing (if I still can by tomorrow) the tickets from USAirways (directly from them). Their roundway-trip fare is about $187, and for now, I guess I’m just trying to be more safe than sorry!</p>
<p>The USairways flight is $183 total including all the junk fees. Thats about the best I am finding for you with the times you said you were planning to travel.</p>
<p>jym626, I think that one is about the best I’m finding as well. By the way, when you refer to “junk fees”, does that just mean taxes? Or is there someway to eliminate those junk fees?</p>
<p>KRabble-
It depends how much of a risk-taker you are. there seem to be several flights on USAirways that will cost you $183.60, and there are several other carriers whose faire is close, at $189. Its already Tuesday. You could wait 24 hrs. Some Airlines will let you “hold” a ticket for 24 hrs before paying. If US Airways will let you do that, I’d do that. That way if there isnt a sale on Weds after midnight, you just go ahead and pay for your tickets.
Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Nope-- cant eliminate the airport taxes, 911 security fee, etc etc that are the “junk fees”. the only ones you can avoid are the extra $5-10 fees that many of the on-line travel sites will tack on. Thats why you should buy direct from the airline site. they wont have that fee. the rest are unavoidable, unfortunately</p>
<p>In the future, if you can buy the ticket at least 21 days in advance you will get a lower fare. US Airways will fly you roundtrip Philly to Pittsburgh for $138.50 but you have to book it in advance, and very often you have to stay over a Saturday too. I have had pretty good luck with US Airways. We even flew out of Philadelphia once to get a low fare (drove down from the New York area).</p>
<p>I think you are lucky that Philadelphia <–> Pittsburgh appears to be a very competitive route so fares are cheap. If you were flying to a smaller city the same distance from home you could easily be faced with $500 airfare if you are buying less than one week in advance.</p>
<p>I just re-checked USairways, and unfortunately it looks like the price went up. The only one that fits my schedule looks like it’s going to be $260. It looks like United Airlines just raised their price for the same flight to $260 as well…</p>
<p>Is there a certain reason why these different airlines depart/arrive at virtually the same time? I find that kind of quirky.</p>
<p>Edit: Nevermind, I actually just read (in small print) that United Airlines is operated by USAirways). I knew there was something very strange going on!</p>
<p>Did you check all airports in the area? Doesn’t Philly have more than one airport?</p>
<p>It looks like there might only be one round-trip package that is agreeing with my original time-plans. In the worst case scenario, I can push back the departure time from PIT to PHL (when I’m coming home), but I don’t think I can change the departure time from PHL to PIT (when I go there on Sunday morning).</p>
<p>Bummer!! Guess you shoulda done the “hold” thing after all…</p>
<p>I found that really interesting how the prices changed pretty drastically in only a few minutes lol… O well, this is all a part of life. Is it possible for these prices to drop at all or will they only increase? Which would be more probable?</p>
<p>QUICK!!! Go to sidestep.com (you will probably have to download the site). YOu can STILL buy the usairways tix for $183.60. HURRY!</p>
<p>your total cost will be $202. I guess the 183 was before all the taxes/fees. There are still other flights now showing at $213</p>
<p>Hmm… I’m having no luck!</p>
<p>I just need a flight that will leave PHL sometime after 6 AM (on Sunday) and depart PIT (on Monday) sometime after 7 PM.</p>
<p>Thank you though! I think I might need to head to bed now and try my luck tomorrow. Thank you all for the help! I greatly appreciate the time you’ve taken to guide me through this.</p>