Hotwire

Use Hotwire.com to find discount airfares online…

Hotwire.com is one of the fare search sites that you can use when looking for a discounted flight, hotel or car rental. You may find a good deal on a last-minute flight, or if you have the time, use the Flexible Date Search option which lets you look for the lowest fares in a 30-day period. There are no booking fees or bidding

On Hotwire’s home page, the Hot Rate Locator search box lets you search for flights, cars,hotels, or for a package. This is where you may find a better deal than hunting for them separately

Finding flight deals with Hotwire…

Hotwire uses the following airlines as suppliers:

Domestic Airlines in the U.S.: AirTran Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Midwest Airlines Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways

International Airlines operating in the U.S.: AeroMexico, Air New Zeland, Alitalia Airways, All Nippon Airways, British Midland Airways, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Continental Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Finnair, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airways, Iberia, Icelandair, KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines, LanChile, LanPeru, and LanEcuador, Lufthansa, Mexicana, NorthWest Airlines, SAS – Scandinavian Airlines System, Singapore Airlines, South African Airlines, Swiss Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways

At certain times Hotwire receives discounted fares from their suppliers so its worth checking back regularly or getting e-mail updates for  a specific fare you are looking for. Hotwire’s site is well laid out and easy to use so it makes your task a little easier. The website is updated every few minutes so you may want to leave it open in a separate browser window if you are short of time

Using Hotwire’s Flexible Date Search to find a flight deal…

When you click on Flights, you will have the option of Flexible Date Search:

This will take you to a page where you can select the cities, dates and number of passengers. Flexible Date Search finds all the best fares between those dates. The results page allows you to refine your search and change cities, dates and the number of nights you are staying. When you click on a specific fare, you are taken to a page that lists all flights and details such as the carrier – you can then make your choice

The screenshot below shows a Hotwire Hot Rates deal which is over $500 below the other fares. Hotwire takes empty seats from the airlines which are then passed on at discounted prices. With these Hotwire Hot Rates, you will get instant confirmation, reserved seating, and you’ll never fly standby. You only find out trip details, like number of stops, exact times, and airline information after you book

If you don’t want to book now, you can subscribe to Hotwire’s Trip Watcher which will send price change info for this fare and other deals you may be interested in:

Using Hotwire’s TripStarter

When you enter the names of the cities you will be traveling between Tripstarter gives you details of flight fares during the year so you can choose the best time of year to travel. There’ also local information on your destination such as weather trends, local events, sports and when to get the best hotel deals